


turn up the heat.

by haekass



Category: Super Junior
Genre: M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-25 22:55:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3828031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haekass/pseuds/haekass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>heat!fic; Hyukjae always knew he had a rare type, one that was shared with only a few people in all of Korea. He thought he'd never get matched - right up until he got the news that he had been matched.    To the Crown Prince Donghae.</p>
            </blockquote>





	turn up the heat.

**Author's Note:**

> grab a snack and some drinks. this is a 22.5k one shot. no I'm not kidding.
> 
> slight warning: I do use the term 'cockwhore' in this fic, but it is not meant in a disparaging way, it's something that two people who consider themselves friends use among themselves and in no other context. It's not meant as a slur, but take care if you're triggered by such.

Hyukjae wandered through the corner market next to his apartment, grabbing a couple of sandwiches and a carton of strawberry milk for a quick dinner. After a moment of hesitation, he also grabbed a bottle of water. His tie was already stuffed into his briefcase and he was _more_ than ready to kick back and relax for his week-long vacation for the Lunar New Year. He'd be visiting and staying with his family, of course, but he felt reasonably sure that he'd be able to hold everything in this year, including the deep disappointment of knowing that he'd most likely not receive any of the red notifications sent from the Center. His type was just too rare to be matched regularly, and the Center would probably have to contact other countries to see if they had available matches after this year's Heat.

 

Quickly paying and wishing the store clerks a happy new year, he easily climbed the stairs to his apartment and punched in the code to unlock his door. Opening the door, the grin of _finally_ being home fell off as he saw the man perched on his sofa, calmly reading one of the many books Hyukjae had perched on the coffee table, telling himself that he'd read them someday.

 

“ _Who the hell are you_?” Hyukjae nearly shrieked, frantically hoping that he had _something_ on him to use as a weapon.

 

The man looked up. “Oh good, I was hoping that you'd be back around this time. I took your dog for a walk, she kept pawing at the door.”

 

“You... _what_?” Hyukjae was almost beyond any sort of rational thought, but the random thought of why would a burglar be sitting on his sofa reading and taking his dog for a walk (and presumably bringing her back) got stuck in his brain and bounced around a few times.

 

“Took your dog for a walk. Have you read this book yet? It seems interesting.”

 

“Uh... not yet...” Hyukjae said faintly, wondering what was going on. “Wait is this some kind of a prank? _Did Kyuhyun set you up to this_?” he growled, noticing Choco prancing out of his bedroom to greet him.

 

“Nope. Who is this Kyuhyun person anyway? Friend, lover, family?”

 

“Who are you?” Hyukjae returned. “Why did you break into my house and then _hang around_?”

 

The man stood up and reached inside his jacket. It moved just enough to where Hyukjae could see a gun cradled in a holster and that was more than enough to have him starting to back up. Very, very few people were allowed to carry weapons, either concealed or exposed. “I'm Kim Youngwoon, palace security,” the man introduced, holding out his identification card.

 

“Palace... security...?” Hyukjae questioned, the authentic looking identification quelling the fear from the peek of a handgun. “Why is palace security interested in me?” He looked suspiciously at the card still outstretched towards him, and with quick and nimble fingers, he easily plucked it out of the loose grip. The card certainly felt real enough, and the picture definitely matched. He lightly tugged the card into an arc, testing to see if any of the holograms or lamination was loose, then ran his fingers over it, checking the outline of the picture.

 

Kim Youngwoon had a small smirk on his lips as he plucked the card back, leaving Hyukjae with nothing in his hands. Blinking, he looked around, finding the grocery bag on the ground next to the closed door. “We're interested in you because we received notification today that you were matched with Crown Prince Donghae by type...”

 

Hyukjae could no longer deal with any of the continual shocks and just collapsed down to the floor, his brain trying to fly in multiple directions at once. “Matched...?” he repeated faintly, absently petting Choco to shush her from barking.

 

“Yeah. Oh here.” Youngwoon dug into his jacket again, producing a red envelope, one that Hyukjae thought he would never receive. “I picked that up for you, no sense in you waiting around for it to come by mail.”

 

Hyukjae gingerly took the envelope with his hands and looked at it incredulously. It certainly looked like his noona's notification. Opening it, he blinked at the words printed there, his brain almost uncomprehending the language he'd used ever since he started talking.

 

“I've been matched...” he repeated to himself softly, only stopping to bite his lips to keep the tears at bay. Then another thought hit him all at once. “I was _matched_ to the _Crown Prince_?” he asked, his voice going up to a squeak.

 

“Yeah, that's what I said.”

 

Hyukjae looked back down at his notification. “I had no idea the Prince was interested in men...” he muttered quietly, his cheeks darkening.

 

Youngwoon snorted. “He's very interested in men, we just keep things quiet. Makes his life and ours easier. So, now that you're a little more with reality again, do you have any casual pictures of yourself and if you could supply your family and friends' names to me, I'd appreciate it.”

 

“Isn't that your job?” Hyukjae muttered, trying to get his legs to cooperate with getting his butt off the ground.

 

“Ah, a sense of humor.”

 

“I occasionally have one,” Hyukjae drolly replied. Heaving a sigh as he was finally off the ground, he looked around and rubbed the back of his neck. “I think one of the more recent pictures I have is with Sora noona. My twitter has some more selcas.”

 

“Then write down your username too,” Youngwoon replied, picking up the book he'd been reading. “I'm sure the prince will browse through at some point. But if you could hurry up, I'd like to be off work at some point.”

 

“Yeah let me go...” Hyukjae shook his head. “What the hell is my life...” he muttered as he moved through the apartment.

 

* * *

 

 

Donghae was fidgeting in his seat as he waited for the middle aged man to get done with the bowing and scraping and actually tell him why this impromptu meeting had been arranged. To have a meeting shoved into his schedule when he was supposed to already be on the way to the stylist was a little bizarre, to say the least.

 

“Your Highness, I am the Director of the Seoul Center...”

 

Like a switch being thrown, Donghae immediately stilled, feeling his heartbeat increase. “The Center?”

 

“Yes Your Highess. We've located a match for you-”

 

“A _match_?” Donghae repeated.

 

“Yes Highness, but I do have some bad news-”

 

“What, are they still a child or coming in for their third Heat?”

 

“Well no, but-”

 

“Are they elderly?”

 

“No, but-”

 

“They're Korean?”

 

“Yes Highness, but-”

 

“That sounds _great_! Is it a man my age?” Donghae asked excitedly.

 

The director shifted in his seat and averted his eyes. “Well.. yes, that's the-”

 

Donghae spun around in his seat. “ _Awesome_! Is he hot?”

 

“Uh... well... I don't think I'm qualified to answer-”

 

“I'll take that as a _yes_. Do you have any pictures of him naked?”

 

Donghae privately enjoyed the squeal and the flushing face of the director. “ _Your highness_!”

 

“I'll take that as a no, then. Oh well, can't have everything. When can I meet him?” Donghae chirped.

 

The director coughed and straightened his suit. “Your meeting has been arranged for the fourth of April.”

 

Donghae scrunched his nose, almost wanting the instant gratification of meeting his match _now_. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. Does my match know yet?”

 

“Palace security was informed a few hours ago, so I believe he is aware of who he's been matched with.”

 

Donghae snorted. “Oh so that's where Youngwoon went.”

 

There was a short knock on the door before Youngwoon poked his head in. “Highness, we have to leave now,” he said. “You're to arrive on time.”

 

The director bowed lowly and slunk out the door. Donghae at least waited until he and Youngwoon were alone before the smirk tilted his lips. “So is my match hot?”

 

Youngwoon sighed and motioned Donghae to start moving. “I think you would classify him as that, yes. He looked more in the realm of _adorable_ but I suspect it was just because he had too many shocks all at once, plus a bad haircut. But he did let me borrow his book and even half panicked, he knew how to check an ID.”

 

Donghae nodded shortly to people as they bowed to him as he passed. “Sounds interesting.” He held his tongue until they were safely away from any prying ears. “Is he all... timid or something?”

 

Youngwoon snorted. “You and your need to have a dick buried in you,” he muttered. “No, he doesn't seem timid at all. I'll get you his twitter name-”

 

“You _will_?” Donghae asked, a wide smile spreading across his face.

 

“ _If_ you stop stalling and get to where you need to be. I'll get you his username when we're on our way back.”

 

“Aww,” Donghae pouted.

 

“Not working. Get moving your royal _pain in my ass_.”

 

“You're so mean to me.”

 

“Yeah, so go complain to management or something.”

 

Donghae snorted a laugh and shook his head. Youngwoon was one of the few people his occasionally abrasive personality hadn't run off, and Donghae considered Youngwoon one of his oldest friends and confidantes.

 

* * *

 

 

Hyukjae flopped down on his childhood bed with a long sigh. He had a suspicion that his family knew that _something_ was up with him, but he was grateful that he hadn't been asked yet.

 

He wanted to both tell them immediately and yet still keep it a secret forever. Only his noona even had a clue that he'd been attracted to both men and women since he was a teenager – and Sora had only found out because she had dropped by for a surprise visit while Hyukjae was crushed by stress, trying to deal with the grief of his only relationship with a man ending, and still keep his job. Sora had worked the entire story out of him, asking only clarification for points Hyukjae had glossed over, and then promptly offered to go punch his ex-boyfriend for him.

 

He looked up at the short knock and his door promptly opening. “Hyukjae?” Sora asked.

 

“Hi noona,” he replied, not bothering to get up from the bed. “I'll be back out in a little bit.”

 

Sora looked down the short hallway and then slipped into the room, sitting down on the bed opposite his. “Is something bothering you? You keep looking like you're expecting to be thrown out at any time.”

 

Hyukjae heaved a sigh. “You'll bother me until I tell you, won't you?”

 

“Privilege of being a noona,” Sora replied, a small smile on her lips. “Spill. I'm not going to have to track down someone who broke your heart am I?”

 

Hyukjae laughed a little, not surprised that his noona would be the one to get laughter out of him, and he was _bursting_ to tell someone the news. Sitting up, he reached into his overnight bag. “I'll tell you, but you can't say anything, not even to Jungsik hyungnim, okay?”

 

Sora's eyebrows arched but she nodded her head.

 

Hyukjae pulled out the red envelope. “I got matched, noona.”

 

Her eyes went wide and she gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth to muffle the sound of her shriek before she tackled Hyukjae in a smothering hug. “Oh my God I am _so happy_ for you!” she whispered fiercely into his ear, squeezing him hard. “Who is it? Are they Korean?”

 

Hyukjae laughed a little and hugged Sora back. “Yes noona, they're Korean.” He sighed. “I was matched with Lee Donghae.”

 

“Lee Do...” Sora froze. “ _Donghae_? As in the _Crown Prince_ Donghae?”

 

Hyukjae bashfully nodded, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

 

“Are you joking?” Sora muttered as she snatched the envelope out of Hyukjae's hand and flipped it open, reading it. “Oh my God, you're serious,” she said softly as she scanned down the brief congratulatory message. “Oh. _Oh_ ,” she said after a moment. “Oh shit that's right, they don't know...”

 

Hyukjae nodded and grabbed the envelope back, folding it neatly and turning it around in his hands. “Yeah... and to find out like this...”

 

Sora grabbed his hands, stilling the nervous movements. “Hyukjae you got _matched_. We all know how rare your type is, and we all know how distraught you were when you found out. I don't see why our parents wouldn't be anything but _thrilled_ for you, no matter the gender of the person you're matched with.” She sighed and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. “But I know why you're scared, too. You've never given anyone any indication that you like any gender other than women, and you keep yourself pretty tied up. So you're scared that they'll freak out because you not only got matched with another man, but royalty at that.”

 

Hyukjae sniffed and turned slightly, hugging his noona, desperately needing some comfort. Just as she had done when they were kids and he'd had a nightmare, Sora ran her fingers through his dark hair, massaging his scalp. The familiar motions soothed him, relaxing his shoulders.

 

“No matter what you monkey, always know that I love you,” she muttered. “I think they're going to be more freaked out about you getting matched with royalty than they will be about you getting matched with another man.”

 

“I wish I had your confidence, noona.”

 

Sora hugged him wordlessly. “I'm guessing that since you brought the notification that you're going to tell everyone?”

 

Hyukjae sighed. “Yeah. I don't want our family to find out from SportsSeoul or Dispatch instead of from me.”

 

“I'm really proud of you,” Sora said.

 

Hyukjae took a couple of deep breaths, feeling more settled with the support of his noona. “I'll break the news after dinner,” he said slowly.

 

“Are you sure, Hyukjae? You don't have to say anything tonight, you can always wait until tomorrow night.”

 

Hyukjae shook his head. “I'd probably slip up, because you know Mom likes to arrange our birthday celebrations over new year.”

 

“Wait, when are you meeting him?”

 

Hyukjae smiled and felt himself blushing. “Our first meeting is scheduled to be on my birthday.”

 

Sora smiled. “Okay I'm not totally given to superstition, but that sounds really auspicious to meet your match on your birthday.”

 

“Didn't you meet Jungsik hyungnim on your birthday?”

 

“No it was the weekend after. All of us who are Heat kids are usually pretty lucky with things like that.”

 

Hyukjae sighed. “I'm so nervous about that noona. What if our personalities are totally different or if he doesn't like me?”

 

“Then I'd call him a fool. But one thing at one time, okay? Just get through telling our parents that you got matched. Worry about meetings when it's closer.”

 

“Yeah you're right.”

 

“It's only taken you twenty something years to figure that out.”

 

Hyukjae huffed a laugh. “So I can be a little slow sometimes.” He pulled back a little and rested his hands on his knees.

 

“You ready to be back out there?” Sora asked.

 

“Yeah, I'm feeling better. Thanks noona.”

 

“You're welcome monkey.”

 

Diving back into the flow of family was much easier after he'd talked with his noona, and he was easily able to laugh and joke around with his extended family through dinner. After everyone except for his immediate family had left for their own homes or for other relatives, Hyukjae slipped back to his and Sora's old room to pick up his notification. His nerves fluttered back as he held the definite proof in his hands of his match with another man, but he took a deep breath. No matter what, he had Sora's support, and he had to content himself with that.

 

Sliding the notification into the back pocket of his jeans, he slid onto the sofa, hearing the water in the kitchen cut off.

 

“Sora said that you had some news?” his mother asked as she walked into the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Did you get promoted at work?”

 

Hyukjae sent Sora an almost accusing look, but he was grateful he didn't have to start the conversation. Sora flopped down next to him, dragging her match down beside her. Rubbing his hands on his jeans nervously, he scanned the room, wanting to just be done with things already. “No, not about work. I, um...” Hyukjae shook his head and reached for the notification. “I got matched.”

 

He winced a little at his mother's high-pitched shout and he fiddled with the notification, opening it and then holding it out.

 

“Oh my God, I cannot believe you got matched, I thought it would be another cycle or two before they would be able to find a match and probably then it would be someone from outside the country,” Deokbom chattered as she took the notification. “I wonder what her name is, oh Lee...”

 

Hyukjae bit his lip and felt Sora pet his hand comfortingly. Both of them knew what line their mother had just seen: the name of Hyukjae's match.

 

“Lee...?” his father repeated, having been fruitless in his search for his glasses. “I can't find my glasses.”

 

“They're on the table where you left them,” Sora said.

 

“Lee Donghae.”

 

“What does the Crown Prince have to do with Hyukjae's match?” Kanghun asked, confused.

 

Deokbom inhaled and released a deep breath before turning to her husband. “The Crown Prince Donghae _is_ Hyukjae's match,” she said slowly.

 

“Oh that's nice... Wait. What? Really?” Kanghun blinked a few times between his wife and Hyukjae, who was blushing spectacularly on the sofa, before shaking his head. “Well... I had no idea. Oh right, the Crown Prince is the same type as Hyukjae...”

 

“I had no idea either,” Deokbom said. “But you got _matched_ , oh my God, I thought this wouldn't happen at _all_.”

 

Hyukjae suddenly found himself caught in one of his mother's strong hugs, and he buried his head in her neck, breathing in the scent he always associated with his mother – the smell of sweet chili paste and vinegar along with something that he could only name as comfort and security.

 

“I'm so happy for you, baby,” she muttered into his hair, pressing a kiss to the back of his head before she lightly cuffed it. “You could have told us sooner about you liking boys,” she continued. “We wouldn't have arranged those meetings if we knew.”

 

Hyukjae snorted lightly. “Well I like girls too, so it wasn't exactly a tragedy dating the girls you set me up with,” he muttered back.

 

“So when do you meet for the first time?” Kanghun asked, trying to stretch his arms far enough away to have the words on the notification to come into focus.

 

“My birthday,” Hyukjae answered.

 

“Oh we'll cancel the entertainers then,” his father slyly replied.

 

Hyukjae started laughing. “Dad! I told you, no more surprise birthday parties!” he joked back, knowing his father's tendency for playing around, a habit and trait he'd inherited.

 

“Who said it was for _you_?”

 

“I'm still having a hard time believing that you just got matched with the Crown Prince,” Deokbom said, shaking her head.

 

“I don't think there's too many other _Lee Donghae_ s running around Korea that have the head of his security detail breaking into my apartment, taking Choco for a walk, and then asking to borrow a few of my books,” Hyukjae replied, feeling the relief and lightness within him.

 

“Palace Security broke into your apartment?” Sora asked, startled.

 

“Yeah, he had authentic ID, I checked. He seemed to be really impressed with that.”

 

Deokbom shook her head. “Only you would manage to impress Palace Security by checking ID.”

 

* * *

 

 

Donghae had decided on casual clothes for his first meeting with his match, and he wished that he'd been able to get more sleep the night before. He'd left his hair unstyled and face bare, not wanting to give his match false impressions. He'd amused himself on the ride to the Center by thumbing through Hyukjae's twitter photos again, unable to resist smiling when he saw the wide, gummy smile grinning up at him from his phone. But now he was wanting to see it for himself, and he could barely contain his impatience as he was lead through the Center's hallways and sat through the required testing for STDs.

 

“Your match has already arrived Highness, and food will be served shortly,” the Center employee said as Donghae followed him through more hallways, his voice smooth and even. Donghae had thought he'd introduced himself as Choi Kwanghwan, but Donghae could be mistaken about that given the way his brain was zipping about in excitement.

 

Donghae nodded his head briefly, years upon years of etiquette and manners drilled into him making the movement smooth and courteous. “We will appreciate it,” he murmured.

 

“May your matching be pleasant,” Kwanghwan said as he opened the door for Donghae, allowing him to enter a spacious room.

 

Donghae saw Hyukjae stand up from where he'd been sitting, his hands twisting briefly before dropping to his sides. It only took Donghae a few steps to stand in front of Hyukjae, and he felt a small thrill when he realized Hyukjae was just a few centimeters taller than he was. “Hi, I'm Donghae,” he said in a rush using informal language, holding out his hand, not wanting Hyukjae to feel uneasy. Donghae just wanted to be plain, simple _Donghae_ to his match.

 

Hyukjae only hesitated a second before gripping Donghae's hand in a firm grip. “Hi Donghae, I'm Hyukjae.”

 

Donghae grinned widely, giddy that Hyukjae was quick on the uptake and had returned the informal greeting. Up close and in person, Hyukjae was breathtakingly gorgeous and Donghae wanted to just stare at him for hours. Hyukjae returned the grin, and Donghae felt himself blushing, nervous and excited all at once.

 

“So um... did Kim Youngwoon ssi give you my twitter?” Hyukjae's face only flushed slightly as he spoke, but his ears were turning a bright red.

 

Donghae laughed a little. “Yeah he did. You're really funny when you're trolling your friends.”

 

Hyukjae laughed, obviously surprised, and Donghae was enamored of the wrinkles around Hyukjae's eyes when he smiled.

 

Both of them turned towards the door when they heard the soft hum and the lights dimmed slightly before brightening. The door opened and yet another Center employee wheeled in a food cart. Donghae smiled and tilted his head. “Let's eat.”

 

Seating themselves at the small table, Donghae only waited for the employee to leave before hooking his feet behind one of Hyukjae's legs. “So what do you like to do for fun?”

 

They shared food and stories, Donghae finding out that Hyukjae had joined and performs with a dance studio, and Donghae sharing his preferred means of stress relief of dancing and trying to sneak in photography when he could. They both shared their evident relief about being matched and their personalities to be seemingly complimentary on first brush, and Donghae had no hesitation in cuddling up against Hyukjae when they flopped down on the sofa after they had traded test results, finding reassurance in the clean bills of health. He yawned and stretched, stubbornly blinking his eyes.

 

“Tired?” Hyukjae asked quietly.

 

“Mmm,” Donghae wordlessly replied. “Was too excited last night to sleep much. Just wanted to meet you already.”

 

Hyukjae ran a quick, cautious hand through Donghae's hair, almost as if he was making sure it was okay. “You can take a nap, I'm not going anywhere.”

 

Donghae arched his neck a little, following Hyukjae's fingers, moaning softly in his throat. “Nah, I can sleep tomorrow. I just want to know all about you like your birthday and your favorite color and funny stories from when you were a kid and honestly, I also kind of want us to be so comfortable that we can truthfully talk about what we like and don't like when it comes to sex.”

 

Hyukjae froze for a second under his arms and Donghae glanced up, worried that his tendency of being blunt in private had scared him. Hyukjae was blushing, but he blew out his breath on a laugh. “I had no idea you were so forward, you always seem so put together on the news broadcasts.”

 

Donghae shrugged. “Yeah, that's my public self.”

 

“I kind of like this side of you.”

 

Donghae found himself grinning. “I hope so, not many people get to see it.”

 

“Oh so I'm one of the lucky few, huh?”

 

Donghae hummed and nodded. “No sense in putting on a front for someone who's going to see me during Heat.”

 

Hyukjae laughed, pulling Donghae just a little bit closer. “I like the way you think. My favorite color is silver, today is my birthday, and you might have to wait a few before I can think of a funny story from when I was a kid.”

 

Donghae jerked his head up, looking at Hyukjae with wide eyes. “Wait it's your birthday today?”

 

Hyukjae blushed but nodded. “Meeting you is one of the best birthday presents I've ever gotten. I thought I'd _never_ get matched.”

 

“You and me both. I thought finding another person of our type was rare enough, but another man that's interested in men? I thought that was _totally_ out of my reach and I'd have to settle for someone that only shared our dominant gene, if anyone at all.”

 

“Which is rare enough in itself,” Hyukjae agreed. “You don't like women?”

 

Donghae shrugged. “They're sexy and I like to fuck them, but we'd be taking long walks in opposite directions and be sitting on opposite sides of the room since I'm only romantically attracted to men. And since getting matched is a pretty big romantic relationship move, I only had them checking for men. What about you?”

 

“I like men and women sexually and romantically. Kind of a shock for my parents when they found out when I got the notification. I'm just glad they took it well.”

 

Donghae squeezed his arms a little. “I don't think I ever gave my parents a choice of not knowing about my attraction to men,” he muttered, almost self-deprecatingly. He arched his eyebrows. “And as much as I don't want to bring the real world into this, you know that not a lot of people are going to be very supportive.”

 

“Yeah my noona pointed that out. She said that the only thing that will make our match even remotely acceptable is that you're royalty, I'm Korean, and our type is rare.”

 

Donghae grimaced, knowing the truth of the statement. “So did you think of a funny story yet?” he asked hopefully.

 

“I think I might have one or two,” Hyukjae teased, shyly lacing their fingers together.

 

Hyukjae was funnier than Donghae had ever expected, and he was nearly preening under the constant physical contact and attention. They watched a few movies that had been provided, and after lunch both of them wound up taking a short nap on the sofa, Donghae holding Hyukjae securely in place with a leg.

 

He woke up, his body feeling a little more rested, and as he glanced at the clock, he saw that he'd only lost an hour and a half to sleep. Looking up, he saw Hyukjae stirring as well, Donghae's movement apparently waking him.

 

Hyukjae stretched and moaned a little. “How long did we sleep?” he mumbled.

 

“Just a little over an hour and a half,” Donghae replied, smiling. “They kick us out at what? Eight?”

 

“Twelve hours for the first meeting, yeah. So probably eight.”

 

“Hmm, six hours to go. What can we do for the next six hours that doesn't involve our clothes coming off?” Donghae jokingly asked.

 

Hyukjae's lips turned upwards, apparently used to Donghae's forwardness already. “Isn't that generally frowned upon and why this room has a see through top and why there's microphones?” he joked.

 

Donghae sighed dramatically. “Fine! Ruin all my hopes and dreams about sex on the first date.”

 

Hyukjae started laughing, which made Donghae laugh as well. “Yeah I definitely like this side of you.”

 

Donghae made a happy noise and cuddled closer to Hyukjae, who didn't seem shy about giving him physical affection.

 

“So... what _do_ you like?” Hyukjae asked.

 

Donghae looked up, and though he could guess what Hyukjae was hinting at from the blush, he wanted direct questioning. “In what area?” he teased.

 

Hyukjae closed his eyes with a sigh, but the small curve of his lips negated any hint of annoyance. “What do you like when it comes to sex?” he asked, keeping his eyes steady on Donghae's when they opened.

 

Donghae smiled in return. “Let me see if I can remember how Youngwoon described me, because it was funny as hell... Oh yeah. Youngwoon said that I was 'the most unabashed power bottom cockwhore' he'd ever encountered in his life.” He smiled, somewhat proudly at Hyukjae's wide eyes. “A pretty accurate description, if you ask me.”

 

“He actually said that to you?” Hyukjae asked incredulously.

 

“Yeah. I've known him since I was seventeen and he first started working for security. It was pretty easy passing him off as a classmate, since a lot of other of my bodyguards made my other classmates and teachers nervous and Youngwoon's only two years older than us. But I think when he said that, he'd _just_ come back from his Heat vacation and I was being a little graphic describing how much I liked being fucked anyway. We still get a good laugh out of it.”

 

“An unabashed power bottom cockwhore...” Hyukjae repeated, rubbing his hands along Donghae's back.

 

“Yep. If I'm getting fucked, anything physically possible is good, pretty much at any time. I love giving oral because it's a huge turn on for me, don't really like not being able to move my hands, really don't like doing rimming, either. The thought always kind of grossed me out. If there's dams... maybe, but definitely not high up on my list of likes, but I don't mind getting rimmed, if that makes any sense. My nipples are really sensitive, too. You could probably make me come just from playing with them, but until I'm almost ready to come, I don't like them pinched because it hurts.” Donghae pursed his lips. “I think that's most of the major stuff. What about you?”

 

Hyukjae blinked a couple of times before shrugging. “I honestly haven't had too much experience with men, only one boyfriend ever and a few hookups that were more about sex than exchanging names, and the women I've been with weren't really into experimentation or doing some reciprocating. I've been fucked a few times and it felt pretty good, so I can understand you on that point. Most everyone else has always wanted me to fuck them for some reason.” He shrugged again, his eyes lowering in shyness. “Everything else for me is kind of a huge question mark, because I don't know if I like it or not.”

 

Donghae cupped Hyukjae's face, smiling softly. “We can always try things that you're interested in, you know. And I don't have any hangups about fucking you any time you want either. I'm into pretty much anything that makes us feel good and happy.”

 

Hyukjae smiled back. “I like that.”

 

“I also really like cuddling and making out, too.”

 

“Well what do you know, so do I,” Hyukjae replied.

 

By the time their meeting was set to end after dinner, Donghae was pouting and clinging to Hyukjae like a vine.

 

“I can't believe it's going to be over a month until I can see you again,” Donghae complained.

 

“I know, I'm not overly fond of the wait myself,” Hyukjae replied, running his hands down Donghae's back. “But next time we get to spend a full day together.”

 

Donghae smiled finally. “And the time after that, a full weekend, and _then_ we can go out on public dates.”

 

Hyukjae laughed a little and lightly kissed Donghae's forehead. “One step at a time. I think the employees are getting irritated at us,” he muttered.

 

Donghae scrunched his nose and sent a dark look at the open door where two employees were waiting on them before heaving a sigh. “All right. Message me when you get home?”

 

“Of course,” Hyukjae replied.

 

They'd added each other on kakaotalk and saved their phone numbers before dinner, and Donghae was happy that they'd be able to continue to get to know each other better even though they wouldn't be able to meet physically for a month. They both dragged themselves towards the door, but just before Hyukjae was about to step out, Donghae yanked him back and shut the door with his hand. Pulling Hyukjae's head down slightly, he easily found the plumper lips with his own.

 

Donghae heard the door open again, and he pulled back, smiling at Hyukjae's dumbfounded, wide eyed expression. “Happy birthday,” he said before slipping outside, smiling. Waving the Center employee who had rushed to follow him ahead, he waved lightly at Hyukjae. “See you next month.”

 

* * *

 

_I'm almost there. Sorry I didn't realize how long that meeting was going to take. :(_

 

Hyukjae chuckled a little and tapped a quick _Just get here safe_ in reply to Donghae's text. Donghae was running late, having been held up for an official meeting with his father, but Hyukjae wasn't really going to be upset about less than an hour, and Donghae had texted him earlier, letting him know that it was going to be a possibility. They had been placed in a different room, one with a large bed installed into the corner of the room since they were to spend a full day together, but there was still a see through roof and microphones set up all through the room.

 

Within twenty minutes, Donghae burst through the door, dropping his bag and then reaching up to tug at the suit tie, and ripping it off, a furrow between his eyebrows. Hyukjae stood up from the sofa and waited for Donghae to wrestle the suit jacket off with a small smile.

 

Once the two items of clothes were in piles on the floor, Donghae was nearly sprinting across the room to slam fully into Hyukjae, toppling them both back down onto the sofa. Their lips met for a moment before Donghae pulled back, his eyes nearly sparkling behind his simple, silver rimmed glasses.

 

“Hi. I missed you.”

 

Hyukjae grinned. “Well hello yourself,” he muttered before dropping another kiss onto Donghae's lips. “I missed you too. I didn't know you wore glasses.”

 

Donghae made a noise and hugged him hard enough to squeeze air out of his lungs. “Yeah, I'm kind of near sighted. I usually wear contacts, but since we're staying overnight, I figured I'd just save myself the trouble and wear my glasses. Did you eat already?”

 

“No, I was waiting on you. They'll probably be delivering food shortly.” He looked up at the hum and the brief dimming of lights. “Or now.”

 

They ate their dinner amid flirting, teasing conversation and they collapsed back down to the sofa after the food was gone and the refuse had been taken away.

 

Donghae sighed deeply. “Is everyone annoying the hell out of you too or am I just having to deal with a bunch of annoying assholes here lately?”

 

Hyukjae huffed a laugh. “We're two months away from Heat, so yes, everyone is being deeply annoying at the moment. I told my boss today that I was going to work on processing more for the next two months rather than dealing with the public.”

 

“You can do that?” Donghae asked.

 

“I turned a loan over to her this week because I literally could not stand to be in the same room with this couple. They were giving me a headache and they weren't even doing anything out of the ordinary, I just couldn't stand to be in the room with them. I think she's aware that it's a Heat year for a few of us, so we're luckily catching a break on that.”

 

Donghae looked up at him, scrunching his forehead as his eyebrows rose. “You know next month, the palace is going to confirm our match...”

 

Hyukjae smiled and pressed his lips to the little folds of skin, watching them smooth back out. “I know.”

 

“You don't have to keep working there if you don't like it. Plus since you're going to be part of the royal family too, there's always more than enough to keep you busy.”

 

Hyukjae sighed. “Yeah, I probably will quit before the next time we meet, even though I like earning my own way through life. But like you and noona pointed out, we're not going to be given rousing support, and I'd rather not have to deal with comments or outright ostracization or people watching me like an oddity and thinking that heteronormative roles apply to us.”

 

Donghae scrunched his nose. “Why the hell are people so concerned with who is fucking who anyways?”

 

Hyukjae shrugged. “Power dynamics. You're just going to be assumed to be fucking me all the time because of your higher social status.”

 

Donghae sighed deeply. “Well, they're going to have to learn how to deal with us at some point, I'm sick of placating them and dealing with their shitty attitudes.”

 

Hyukjae smiled, holding Donghae just a little tighter, and feeling better about life. His family knew of his thoughts of quitting his job – not because he expected Donghae and the citizens of the country to support him, but more to have less stress in his life while getting his matching sorted – and had lent him their support for that option. He also knew logically that if he did keep his job after Heat, that people would either unfairly go to him to get a brush with royalty and not for his capabilities, or no one would go to him at all.

 

“Do you like your job?” Donghae asked quietly.

 

Hyukjae shrugged a little. “It's a job, but I mostly took the position of loan officer because it was stable and I'd be able to support my parents at some point, not for any love of banking. I have people I'm friendly with at work, but I've overheard more than a few comments that lead me to believe that some of them wouldn't like me at all if I was in a relationship with another man.”

 

“Is that why you didn't tell anyone?”

 

“Yeah, mostly. But I also felt like I would be disappointing my family in a way? I felt bad enough for just having a rare type.”

 

“But you liking who you like isn't your fault. No more than your type is...”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “Logically, I know that. Emotionally is something else. But having my family take things well and supporting me is helping a lot, even though all of us are getting a little agitated.”

 

Donghae blinked. “All of you?”

 

Hyukjae nodded. “Both noona and I are Heat kids, our mother wasn't able to conceive any other way.”

 

Donghae grinned widely. “So all of you are coming in?”

 

“Yeah. It's kind of like a family vacation that makes us able to live with each other for the next three and a half years.”

 

Donghae laughed loudly, roughly smacking Hyukjae on the shoulder in his mirth. “That must be interesting.”

 

“Oh yeah, you were born between Heats weren't you?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“Yeah. I guess it works out because then there's always either me or my father to deal with the government.” Donghae yawned widely, making Hyukjae yawn as well.

 

“We should get some sleep, I know both of us were up really early.”

 

Donghae grinned. “Yeah we should. I'm so comfortable I'd probably fall asleep on you within an hour.”

 

They changed into clothing that was comfortable enough to sleep in, brushed their teeth, and wound up stretched out in bed, their bodies curling up beside each other, but not on each other. Before Hyukjae drifted off to sleep, Donghae leaned forward, pushing his lips softly against Hyukjae's.

 

“Good night,” Donghae whispered.

 

Hyukjae's lips curled up into a smile. “Good night.”

 

 

When he woke up in the morning, Donghae curled up on his side next to him and arching into the space Hyukjae's body had left, Hyukjae sighed happily and curled back towards Donghae in a vain attempt at getting just a few more minutes of sleep. He drifted off in his own head for a while, more settled than he had been for almost a month. He wondered idly if he was already starting to smell others and he just wasn't consciously realizing it, because he felt settled and at peace with Donghae's body curled next to him.

 

Donghae sniffed and scooted closer to Hyukjae, making a little sound when Hyukjae wrapped an arm under his head and held him closer.

 

“This feels nice,” Donghae mumbled after a while.

 

Hyukjae hummed an agreement. “I feel better today than I have for almost a month.”

 

“Same here, I don't feel like I'm ready to punch half of the politicians I have to deal with on a daily basis.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled. “That's a good thing. I can already see the headlines if you do.”

 

“Yeah me too. That's why I haven't so far.” Donghae stretched out, almost careful to not dislodge Hyukjae's body. “I didn't really get to take a look, but are we stuck watching movies all day?”

 

“Nah, there's small private courtyards outside, I think there's a basketball hoop set up too, but it's a little small for football.”

 

Donghae's eyes finally opened. “Oooh, I haven't played basketball in a while.”

 

“You and me both,” Hyukjae replied. “That sounds like something fun to do now that it's warmer.”

 

“Did you bring anything to play in?” Donghae asked.

 

“Eh, I can play in what I've got on at the moment, it's comfortable enough.”

 

Donghae giggled. “I'm going to be doing the same thing, really.”

 

Once they'd roused themselves from bed and taken care of their immediate needs, they were served a brief breakfast by the employees and they ate quickly, the lure of moving around and playing far more tempting than the food. Getting out into the small courtyard, they could both hear murmurs of other couples, but the walls between the courtyards were over two meters high and curved inward to prevent any peeks, overheard conversations, or unintended scents drifting between matches. Hyukjae found the balls while Donghae went to get their shoes.

 

“We're probably not going to be able to play for long,” Donghae said, almost sheepish at their dress shoes. Both of them had gone to the Center directly after work or meetings, so they were limited to either wearing dress shoes or the guest slippers. Neither one would provide any decent traction and it was far more likely that they'd trip with the slippers by catching it on an uneven piece of ground.

 

Hyukjae stepped onto the paved cement with his bare feet and shrugged. “We could try and play with no shoes. It feels smooth enough. Plus not so much risk of slipping. I mean it's a little rough, but not bad.”

 

Donghae gingerly stepped outside the doors, padding around in a small area by the door. “Yeah, we could. I don't see us doing many jump shots or anything, though.”

 

Hyukjae laughed. “Probably not.”

 

They warmed up slowly, careful on the concrete, and took turns shooting baskets with the other watching before they even attempted to play a quick game. They agreed to call the game after five scores in deference to their feet, since both the air and the concrete were starting to warm up uncomfortably fast and there was only so much they could really do with bare feet.

 

Donghae wound up winning with a neat layup that had Hyukjae shaking his head in admiration and Donghae smiling proudly. “Pretty good huh?”

 

Hyukjae was quick and yanked Donghae against him, pressing their lips together and keeping Donghae in place with a hand along his jaw and his other hand at the small of his back. “Yeah, pretty good,” he said when he finally pulled back with a smile.

 

Donghae moaned softly in the back of his throat, pulling Hyukjae closer. “Kiss me again,” he demanded.

 

Tilting his head, he set their lips together again, gasping as he felt Donghae's lips part and a wet tongue slide against his lips. Donghae took advantage of Hyukjae's parted lips to slip his tongue inside Hyukjae's mouth, sensually rubbing against Hyukjae's tongue before teasingly darting back into his own mouth, a clear invitation for Hyukjae to follow.

 

Plunging his tongue into Donghae's mouth, he felt Donghae smile slightly and relax against him, letting Hyukjae control the pace of their kiss. They were both breathing deeply by the time Hyukjae pulled back, but smiling at each other.

 

“As much as I don't want to, we should take a shower so we don't try to immediately jump each other,” Hyukjae said, unable to resist fitting their lips together again for another addictive taste of Donghae.

 

Donghae moaned into his mouth, and when Hyukjae pulled back again, he was breathing harder.

 

“Yeah, I hear that's generally frowned upon until we're in Heat,” Donghae muttered as his eyes fluttered open and his lips curved. “But! We can make out all we want. It's just the bumping and grinding of loins that's looked down on.”

 

Hyukjae burst out laughing. “The _bumping and grinding of loins_?” he asked incredulously.

 

Donghae grinned widely. “Yep! As the winner of our little competition, I'm claiming first shower!” He spun around and bounced a little as he walked along the hot pavement.

 

“Holy shit that _ass_ ,” Hyukjae said as he caught sight of Donghae's rear end curving gently below his loose pajama pants and brilliantly highlighted by the sun.

 

Donghae paused and grinned at him from over his shoulder. “I don't mind getting spanked on it either,” he teased before he slipped inside, leaving Hyukjae gaping after him.

 

“It's official, I think he's going to drive me insane in the next two months,” Hyukjae muttered to himself before he put the basketball back where he'd gotten it from and he grabbed their shoes on the way in, the cool floor such a relief to his feet.

 

Once Donghae was out of the shower (and thankfully dressed, Hyukjae didn't think he'd be able to handle a naked Donghae) Hyukjae immediately hopped in after grabbing his bag, setting the water to as cool as he could physically stand. The bathroom smelled moist and warm and for some reason, it was making thoughts of a naked and wet Donghae moaning bounce around his head. When he was certain that he could control himself, he turned up the temperature and quickly washed himself, drying off just as quickly, and then dressing to rejoin Donghae.

 

Donghae was lounging on the sofa, lazily flipping through channels on the television, one of his legs resting on the back of the sofa while the other rested on the sofa.

 

“Oh now you're just doing that on purpose,” Hyukjae mock complained.

 

“Huh?” Donghae asked, startled, but then smiled as he realized his position. “Oh,” he chuckled. “It's comfortable. Plus it always freaked everyone out when I put my legs up on the tops of chairs and sofas. You're welcome to join me.”

 

Hyukjae snorted and merely moved the leg that was resting on the sofa out of the way before he sat down, keeping Donghae's leg on his lap. They enjoyed the silence around them, the only sound coming from the television until lunch was served, and even at times until dinner.

 

Donghae pouted as they had to part again for another month, his lips only curving upwards when Hyukjae lightly kissed the protruding lower lip while the employees allowed them a short time to say farewell.

 

“Text me when you get home,” Hyukjae said.

 

Donghae nodded and squeezed his hand. “You too. Drive safe.”

 

* * *

 

 

“People just keep getting more and more _annoying_ ,” Donghae complained as he flopped down on his bed, grunting. “And I don't know what it is, but I'm getting a little nauseous when I'm trapped in a room with a bunch of people. Either that or I want to hit someone.”

 

Hyukjae's laugh drifted into his ears from his headphones. “That's because we're a little over a month away from Heat. We can only really stand to be around those who share our dominant type.”

 

“Which hardly _anyone_ has in the country. It's so gross. I think there's only one Minister I didn't feel like getting sick on today. _Ugh_ I can't wait to have my Heat vacation time already,” he whined. “Oh, that reminds me. I'm on my vacation two days after next weekend at the Center, but I have to attend a formal the night after our meeting weekend. Do you want to come with me?” he shyly asked, wishing that he could be asking in person.

 

Hyukjae was silent for a second. “Do you think that would be okay?” he asked uncertainly.

 

Donghae smiled, adoring how cute Hyukjae sounded. “It was actually my parents' suggestion that I bring you, so yeah, it's definitely okay. It'll let you get introduced around... and honestly, having you around is probably going to be the only thing that keeps me somewhat put together since we're so close to Heat.”

 

“Okay, I'll go with you.”

 

Donghae squealed happily, kicking his feet in the air, listening to Hyukjae laugh on the other end of the line. “Did you quit your job?”

 

“Yeah, last week,” Hyukjae said between bouts of laughter. “My boss kept trying to get me to tell her why I was quitting. I had to tell her three times that I hadn't been lured away by another bank, and that it really was _personal reasons_ why I was leaving.” He sighed. “But I'll tell you, I am _glad_ to be out of there. I didn't realize how much I didn't like it until I didn't have to be there anymore.”

 

Donghae smiled up at his ceiling. “So what have you been doing?”

 

“De-stressing, mostly. Meeting with Kim Youngwoon ssi about a potential guard for my family, and mostly just relaxing and looking forward to next weekend, along with starting to pack up.”

 

“Oh is that where Youngwoon keeps going? He keeps sneaking off and not telling me where he's going.”

 

Hyukjae huffed a laugh. “Yeah we've met a few times this week.”

 

“Mmm I can't wait until you live here, though,” Donghae mumbled, a hand drifting down his neck to lightly rub against a nipple before stopping himself. Flipping over, he sighed, irritated.

 

“What's wrong?” Hyukjae mumbled into the phone.

 

“Can't get comfortable,” Donghae replied. “I'm always like this before Heat though. It's like I'm constantly _craving_ contact but everyone smells disgusting, and I can't have you _yet_ and I'm just really frustrated,” he complained, rolling his hips against the bed, huffing his breath out.

 

Hyukjae laughed a little, apparently delighting in his misery. “It's only a little more time, Donghae,” he tried to placate.

 

Donghae grunted. “I don't know how you aren't nearly shaking yourself out of your skin. Keeping my hands off you next weekend is going to be a test of willpower,” he said. When sensation jolted through him, working a moan out of his throat, he suddenly froze and planted his face into a pillow with an irritated sigh.

 

“What was that?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“Me getting off to your voice,” Donghae grumbled.

 

“Donghae...” Hyukjae started, a note of censure in his voice.

 

“Hey, tradition only says sex is off the table. It doesn't say _anything_ about phone sex,” he argued, almost whining. He was tired, horny, and frustrated with the slow passage of time. He just wanted to get off to release some of the pressure built up within him. “Hyukkie I've had a _really_ shitty day, I miss you, and I need to do _something_ so I'm not either about to cry or about to punch someone and it's not like it's gonna make you less horny during Heat. I've gotten off plenty of times before Heat and I _still_ spend most of the week in a total fog and coming my brains out-”

 

“Shut up and get your hand on your dick, Donghae,” Hyukjae interrupted.

 

He gasped as he turned over, his hand pushing against his dick through his pants. “Mmm, that feels so good.”

 

“Already hard?” Hyukjae asked, his voice teasing.

 

“Have been since you called,” Donghae answered honestly and he laughed a little. “You got on board with this really fast.”

 

Hyukjae snorted. “Like you said, only sex is off the table and you aren't the only one frustrated either.” He paused. “Why don't you tell me how you're getting off?”

 

Donghae laughed and unzipped his pants, eagerly pushing them down and dragging his boxers along with them. His shirt buttons nearly popped off in his haste to get the clothing off his body, and once his body was exposed enough for his liking, his hands immediately went to remembered locations. One curled softly around his dick, his fingers barely brushing the skin, and the other was rubbing against one of his nipples. He hadn't been joking when he'd told Hyukjae that he could practically get off on just having his nipples played with. “Well now that I'm naked,” he started and smiled widely at Hyukjae's clipped moan. “Now that I'm naked, I'm playing with one of my nipples and kind of half jerking myself off.”

 

“Only half?” Hyukjae teased, his breathing noticeably faster.

 

“I'm not gripping my dick really tightly, just more drifting my fingers over the skin. You'd love watching me, wouldn't you? Slowly spread my legs open and watch me until I'm squirming against the bed and practically _begging_ you to fuck me.” He savored Hyukjae's moan in his ears and rubbed down against the bed before reaching over and grabbing the lube that never quite made it back to where it was supposed to go. Breathing out slowly as the cool lube came into contact with his hot skin, his fingers tightened as he worked the substance over the length of his dick.

 

Hyukjae's breath voice drifted back to him and he blinked, trying to catch the words. “... fuck you and fill you up just like you're imagining. But mmm, do you prefer to wrap your legs around my waist while I slam into you or let me work them up over my shoulders and I get to nibble on your lovely thighs?”

 

Donghae gasped, the hand on his dick working faster while his other hand switched nipples, rolling it against the pad of his finger and lightly pinching it. “All of the above sounds fantastic. _Fuck_ I want to come so bad...”

 

“So do it, Donghae. Come hard when you're imagining me inside you because I'm thinking of that right now... Thinking how tight you're going to be around my dick and hearing all of those sexy little noises you're making now...”

 

Donghae moaned brokenly, his body arching as he came. He moaned again as he came down slightly from his high, his hand finally slowing to a stop on his dick. Hyukjae grunted over the phone before he gasped and cried out into Donghae's ears. Donghae smiled as he heard Hyukjae panting for air, and his fingers dipped lazily in the come trailing up his stomach.

 

“Wow, I didn't realize how much I needed that,” Hyukjae laughed.

 

Donghae laughed as well. “Yeah I think it's been almost three weeks since I last got myself off.”

 

“Three _weeks_? Oh my God, no wonder you've been so wound up!” Hyukjae exclaimed. “I'm usually ready to snap at someone after a week and a half in the middle of the Heat cycle, I can't even imagine going almost a full _month_ this close to Heat.”

 

Donghae grinned. “Well, I've been so busy going all around the country and meeting with Ministers that I've just been collapsing into bed and then going to sleep as soon as we're off the phone.” He blinked as Hyukjae's words registered. “Hey!”

 

“ _Hey_ what?” Hyukjae answered on a yawn.

 

“You were almost sounding like you thought that we couldn't get off until Heat...”

 

Hyukjae laughed. “No, it wasn't that. I just didn't know how we're going to keep our hands off each other all weekend now. Then again, I didn't know you'd gone almost three weeks without getting yourself off. This close to Heat, I'm usually getting myself off three to four times every few _days_.”

 

Donghae shook his head, amused at the misunderstanding. “Yeah I've just been too tired a lot, but now my schedules are freeing up since everyone knows that I'm getting close to Heat.” He laughed. “I'll be able to get off a lot more.”

 

Hyukjae hummed. “Are we needing to make this a more frequent thing?” he teased.

 

Donghae laughed, his body feeling lighter and more relaxed. “Assuming you're agreeable.”

 

“Oh I'm _very_ agreeable to listening to you make all those little noises again.”

 

“I'm very agreeable to making them for you again,” Donghae answered back, then looked to his door as he heard the loud knocks. “Hang on, someone's knocking.” Cupping the microphone to shield Hyukjae's ears, he pulled his pants back up just enough to cover himself when he propped his leg up. “What?” he called at the door.

 

Youngwoon stuck his head in. “You've got a dinner meeting to attend. Go take a shower, you're louder than you think you are.”

 

Donghae sighed. “Fine, though if I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have even bothered pulling my pants back up.”

 

Youngwoon snorted and made a rude gesture with his fingers before closing the door.

 

“Who was that?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“Oh just Youngwoon telling me I had another meeting to go to,” Donghae answered. “He told me that I'm louder than I think I am.”

 

“Not pulling your pants back on though?” Hyukjae asked.

 

Donghae smiled. “Yeah, he flipped me off for that comment too. It's kind of been our running joke since the first time he accidentally walked in on me masturbating and I tried to pull my pants back on. Youngwoon probably knows the most about my sex life, much to his displeasure. He's the one that keeps walking in on me though.”

 

Hyukjae laughed suddenly. “Oh my God, _really_?”

 

Donghae giggled. “Yep. And as much as I don't want to, I do have to hang up and go take a shower.”

 

“Okay, I should probably take one too.”

 

Donghae set the mic against his lips and blew Hyukjae a kiss across the line. “I'll talk to you later!”

 

Hyukjae blew him a kiss back. “Looking forward to it. Have fun and be safe.”

 

Donghae found Hyukjae's admonishments of _be safe_ rather endearing and it reminded him to buckle up in the car and wait for Youngwoon to indicate that he could proceed, a soft reminder of the feelings they both seemed to harbor already.

 

* * *

 

 

Hyukjae actually remembered to bring his basketball shoes for their third meeting and had told Donghae to bring his as well since the weather looked like it would be nice. Summer wouldn't officially start for a couple of weeks, but the weather patterns had provided all of Korea with balmy temperatures and sunny days.

 

He and Donghae had already been playing basketball for almost an hour in their small courtyard, both of them needing and craving some type of physical exercise to deal with the frustration that was definitely starting to show. They had both shed their shirts at some point and the enticing smell that was near trapped in the courtyard with them was making their game a little rougher than they had intended. Anything to get closer to each other.

 

Hyukjae winced as he felt his skin scrape against the concrete when he was knocked down. He was expecting the wind to be knocked out of him as well, but Donghae managed to catch himself on his hands just before their bodies collided painfully.

 

“I think that's enough for now,” Donghae panted, lowering his body to rest on Hyukjae's.

 

“Yeah,” Hyukjae muttered, his brain slowly scrambling. There was definitely something _enticing_ in the air around Donghae and Hyukjae kept drawing in deep breaths, wanting to get more. His eyes caught on a droplet of sweat clinging to the top of Donghae's lip, Donghae's golden skin nearly glowing under the sunlight that filtered into their courtyard, and how it sparkled with each breath Donghae took. With a choked moan, he pulled Donghae closer, their mouths easily parting as soon as they had connected.

 

His senses were clouded with everything _Donghae_ , but as soon as air became a pressing need, he pulled back. “Shit shit _shit_ ,” he mumbled, setting his head on the concrete, wanting nothing more than to shed the last of their clothes and destroy the frustration that simmered between both of them.

 

Donghae was panting into his skin, his fingers curling into Hyukjae's body, and with apparent difficulty, he finally lifted himself onto his knees. Hyukjae glanced down, biting his lip when he saw the clear outline of Donghae's dick pressing against his shorts. “We can do this,” Donghae mumbled. “We can get through another month without ripping each other's clothes off.”

 

Hyukjae sat up, wincing again as he felt the scrapes along his shoulders. “Yeah we can.”

 

Donghae looked at him and scrambled onto his feet, circling around Hyukjae. “Oh shit.”

 

Hyukjae looked over his shoulder. “It can't be that bad, I don't feel like I'm dying or anything.”

 

Donghae huffed a laugh. “It's not, just looks like road rash across your shoulder blades. It'll probably sting like hell when we clean it, though.”

 

Hyukjae sighed. “Probably.”

 

“Well, let's get your back washed off and take showers,” Donghae said. “And find something to do around here that doesn't involve our clothes coming off or one of us getting injured.”

 

Hyukjae smiled and stood up. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

 

True to Donghae's prediction, it did sting like _hell_ when Donghae washed the scrapes with warm water and soap and poured antiseptic on it, but the pain helped distract him from the restlessness and _need_ within himself. He shivered as Donghae blew softly against his broken skin to try and reduce the sting, and he couldn't help the soft moan as Donghae pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. “You shower first, okay?” Donghae said.

 

Hyukjae smiled and gave Donghae a proper kiss, his hand firmly holding Donghae's head in place, until they were both breathless again. “Okay.”

 

Once they had both showered and redressed, Hyukjae spent their last hours together at the Center enjoyably, being pampered by Donghae and curled up against him on the sofa. They chatted aimlessly about things, not trying to think of the following day when the palace would hold a news conference to announce their match.

 

They parted with a kiss behind the closed door, both of them promising to talk as soon as they arrived home.

 

 

Hyukjae was already expecting the knock on his door by nine the next morning. He'd been up and dressed and showered since seven, his nerves making him wake up at the first beep of his alarm. He opened his door, expecting Youngwoon.

 

He caught an armful of Donghae instead.

 

“Hi,” Donghae chirped brightly before kissing him.

 

“Hi,” Hyukjae mumbled back as soon as Donghae had released his lips. “Aren't you supposed to be at a meeting or something?” Looking up worriedly, he saw Youngwoon casually leaning against the closed door.

 

“Nope! I have a few meetings after lunch, but I'm free for right now. Come on, you ready to go?”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “Yeah, I'm ready to go.”

 

“No Choco?” Youngwoon asked.

 

“No, she's with my parents for now. A cousin will probably watch her while we're all at the Center.”

 

“Okay good, a couple of guys will come by later on today to get the last of your stuff. I didn't want her to get spooked.”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “She won't be back with me until after we're back from the Center, but thanks for asking.”

 

“Let's go!” Donghae said, yanking Hyukjae's hand to get him to start moving towards the door.

 

Once they were in the simple but luxurious car, Donghae finally took off his black cap and shook his hair out.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

Donghae smiled at him. “Well, we're going to get you fitted for a suit, but I'm pretty sure the stylists are going to have a go at your hair later on.”

 

Hyukjae frowned, tugging at lock of his hair. “What's wrong with my hair?”

 

“It's just your haircut,” Youngwoon commented from the driver's seat.

 

“The stylists don't get to experiment much with my hair,” Donghae said sheepishly. “You can always tell them no.”

 

“Do you think I need to get my hair cut?” Hyukjae asked quietly, feeling the nerves flutter up.

 

Donghae smiled at him. “I think you look amazing, no matter what. Hair is hair, it grows back.”

 

Hyukjae smiled back, relieved. “Yeah, you're right. I don't know, I'll see what they want to do.”

 

Donghae had to leave in the middle of his fitting, but the confident smile and not so subtle blown kiss he'd left with kept Hyukjae going with a smile, even as the stylists had tutted over him. He'd had his hair pulled back with a headband and one of the stylists took several pictures of his face with her phone, but one of the older stylists already had a near maniacal gleam in her eyes.

 

“Short. Hair,” she demanded. “Look at his cheekbones! _His jawline_! We need to show off your face more.”

 

The stylist holding the phone nodded her head slightly, her nails clacking against the screen as she tapped. “Well, what do you think?” she asked, holding out the phone.

 

Hyukjae gingerly took the phone. It was him, but _not_ him at the same time. His face was plastered onto a generic face that had very short, dark hair that was spiked up. Hyukjae blinked at the screen, and then glanced up at the mirror. With his hair pulled back, he could already kind of see how he would look. Sucking his lips in for a second, he looked up. “Okay,” he said, his voice steady.

 

He'd bit his lip with each snip of the scissors, but as he felt the breeze drifting past his ears, he glanced at the mirror and smiled. He hoped Donghae would like it.

 

“Oooh! The news conference is on!”

 

Hyukjae bit his lip nervously as he followed the stylists to watch the large television. The seal of the royal family appeared briefly before flickering out to reveal the conference room. Donghae's parents, the king and queen that Hyukjae had only ever seen via television but whom he would be meeting face to face for the first time that night, stepped up onto the dais, nodding their heads slightly to greet and acknowledge the reporters' bows from their seats.

 

“On behalf of the royal family, I thank you all for your interest in this small conference. My wife and I wish to announce the joyous news that a match has been found for our only child, the Crown Prince Donghae, and that their personalities are compatible to create a successful match next month. As the nation is aware, the Crown Prince is a very rare type and he has longed for the matching many others are able to find easily. We have been blessed with the knowledge that the Center was able to find someone of the same age and type from one of our loyal citizens, and we ask the country's blessing for them. Once again, we thank you for your interest.” With a short bow, the king and queen began stepping away from the dais.

 

One reporter's hand shot up. “Your Majesties! Who has been chosen as a match for the Crown Prince? What is her name?”

 

Hyukjae watched the queen's lips curl in a very familiar fashion on the television and he swore he stopped breathing for a second. He'd already agreed that there was no reason to sneak around, not when matching was placed so highly in society, and he felt he would be mostly prepared for the comments that would come.

 

She quickly glanced at her husband, who nodded and gestured her back to the microphone with a fond, loving smile, and then the queen stepped back onto the dais. “ _His_ name is Lee Hyukjae, who comes from Incheon. And our son is very fond of him.”

 

With that bombshell dropped, the king and queen disappeared back out of the door that had been opened up for them.

 

Hyukjae released his breath, feeling a little light headed. “Well, that's done,” he said. “And now I see where Donghae gets it from,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

 

“Nervous?” one of the stylists asked, thankfully not having heard his muttering.

 

Hyukjae shrugged. “More relieved than anything else. It finally kind of feels official.”

 

“And the Crown Prince is apparently _very fond_ of you, too,” the head stylist said with a teasing twinkle in her eye.

 

Hyukjae smiled and walked back to the chair. “Good, I'm a little fond of him myself.”

 

He went from getting his hair cut and only lightly styled practically right back to the fitting room, where his suit was fussed over once more, and by the time he was actually getting ready for the event, Donghae had just arrived from his multitude of meetings. Hyukjae fluttered his eyes open as soon as the stylist had lifted the pencil away from his eyelid to see Donghae standing still at the doorway to the room, the naked hunger and _want_ all over his face in the mirror.

 

“Donghae,” he said with a note of warning in his voice, and loud enough to where he would be heard by Donghae.

 

He saw Donghae jerk his head slightly, coming out of whatever daze he'd been in. “Hi,” Donghae said, nodding in response to the stylists bowing and nodding their heads. He hopped easily into the chair beside Hyukjae and waited for one of the stylists to fuss over his hair.

 

“Hi,” Hyukjae said back, smiling. “How did your meetings go?”

 

Donghae grinned widely. “They were productive, but I'm glad to be done with them for the next month and a half. Still felt like puking on half of the Ministers when they got too close.”

 

“You complain about them but not us,” Donghae's stylist said, combing his hair.

 

“That's because you all keep this place better ventilated than most of the Ministry offices, Sunyoung. I feel like I can actually breathe in here. Like yeah, I'll get occasional whiffs, but I smell more of your hair product stuff than I do anyone else. What about you Hyukjae?”

 

Hyukjae shrugged. “Same here, really. I haven't had an issue at all. One or two times when you were having to lean over me for something, but yeah it's more hair product stuff that I smell than anyone. We probably smell more unpleasant to you.”

 

Sunyoung shrugged. “Nothing unbearable, just more like you played half a soccer match.”

 

They were fussed over until the stylists deemed them ready for the night, and then immediately taken to where their suits were waiting.

 

Hyukjae grimaced as he messed with his bow tie again. It just wouldn't sit straight in his collar, and he at least wanted to make a decent first impression.

 

“Having a problem?” he heard from behind him, and he arched an eyebrow at Donghae in the mirror. Aside from the presence of Youngwoon at the door, they had been left alone.

 

Finally sighing, he nodded. “Yeah it just won't sit straight,” he complained as Donghae backhugged him.

 

“Here,” Donghae said, turning him around. His hands easily flipped the fabric around, and when his hands smoothed down his lapels, Hyukjae had no doubt that his tie was perfect. “You look really good,” Donghae shyly said, his voice soft and warm.

 

Hyukjae smiled, feeling color coming up into his face as he looped his hands behind Donghae's back and pulled him forward. “Thanks. You look amazing, though.”

 

Donghae cuddled closer with his own arms around Hyukjae's back. Donghae smelled _fantastic_ and Hyukjae wasn't sure if it was more of the cologne he'd seen Donghae spraying on before or if it was just simply _Donghae_ , but whatever it was, Hyukjae was completely addicted. Hyukjae knew that these would probably the last few minutes of peace he'd have for the night, and he tried to remember this sense of calm of having his match so close to him and the world quiet and still. He knew he'd probably need it for later on when he'd be dealing with other people.

 

Donghae wouldn't be questioned, but he certainly would be.

 

Donghae fit their lips together softly and chastely, the gesture comforting him and making him smile.

 

“Thanks,” he whispered, finally opening his eyes.

 

Donghae was smiling. “You're welcome. Ready to go face the big bad world?”

 

Hyukjae blew out his breath. “Yeah. The sooner we're done with this is the sooner you're on vacation.”

 

“I have a present for you too,” Donghae said, tugging him towards the door.

 

Hyukjae laughed and held Donghae's hand as they moved through the hallways and towards the car that was parked outside. “A present?” he asked. “Our clothes have to stay on,” he whispered teasingly in Donghae's ear.

 

Donghae rolled his eyes playfully. “Damn, so much for me giving you a blowjob in the car,” he muttered back.

 

It was only Youngwoon's disgusted noise that gave them any indication that they'd been overheard. “Keep your pants on,” Youngwoon told them. “And no blowjobs in my fucking car,” he continued.

 

Donghae smirked. “Good luck in stopping me if I want,” he teased in a singsong voice.

 

Youngwoon glared at Donghae, to which Donghae just laughed. “Okay okay, fine. Aish, you're such a demanding bodyguard.”

 

“I feel more like your babysitter slash chaperon than the head of your security detail.”

 

“Oh damn, ruin all the hot bodyguard fantasies I've built up over the years...”

 

“Get in the fucking car Donghae,” Youngwoon ordered with a roll of his eyes.

 

Donghae laughed loudly and dragged Hyukjae next to him, giving him a wet smack on the lips. “I love talking shit to him,” he giggled.

 

Hyukjae laughed as well, the small flicker of jealousy quelled by Donghae's mirth. “Buckle up,” he softly admonished as he grabbed his seatbelt.

 

Donghae smiled and did as he was told as Youngwoon started the engine. “Oh, Youngwoon, do you have...”

 

Youngwoon silently handed a small bag back towards them. “There you go your royal pain in my ass.”

 

Donghae snorted and passed the bag to Hyukjae. “Um, I know you said that your phone had some problems since Choco chewed on it, and... yeah.” Donghae was blushing and looking so earnest and shy as he trailed off.

 

Hyukjae glanced down, then back up. “You got me a phone?” he asked, feeling the happiness spreading through his chest. He'd had more than just a _few_ problems with his phone since it had gotten knocked next to Choco's favorite chew toy and she'd eagerly chewed on it. To other people, Donghae's present would have been almost superficial, but Hyukjae felt really touched with Donghae's thoughtfulness in remembering an offhand comment he'd made about the rough condition of his phone. He smiled and grabbed Donghae's hand. “Thank you.”

 

“It should have your number and all of your stuff transferred onto it and Youngwoon's already taken it through our IT department to make sure that it meets really high security so you can use it without worrying about anything, all you have to do is just sign in to your apps and it should be good to go.”

 

Hyukjae smiled at how cute Donghae was being. “You're amazing, Donghae. I really appreciate this.” Thumbing the device to life, he saw it was the newest model and was already covered with a screen protector and a rubber case that Hyukjae was pretty certain would be dog tooth proof. All of his contacts were still there, and Hyukjae laughed as he saw Donghae had set a new picture for his contact – a closeup of his lips pursed in a kiss.

 

Donghae was smiling, obviously relieved. “Go ahead and sign in to your stuff, we have a few minutes before we arrive at the palace.”

 

Hyukjae smiled at him, immediately setting his normal log in passcode and opening his kakaotalk first. Once he was signed in and had entered the security code, he exited out, ignoring the chat notifications, and opened up his twitter. He'd only signed up for half of the social media he had just to keep up with a few of his favorite celebrities, but once Sora and some of his studio friends had added him, he'd been a lot more active on various platforms.

 

He squeaked, surprised when he signed in and was immediately inundated with notifications that kept his phone chirping. “Oh my God,” he said, trying to frantically turn off the sound.

 

Donghae looked over and laughed. “A little trouble there?”

 

Finally having switched the sound to vibrate, he looked over at Donghae with wide eyes. “Um... I'm guessing that the country just discovered I have a twitter. Oh my God, I've got to turn all of these notifications off before the phone breaks.” Thumbing through the menu, he finally got his phone to stop vibrating and he breathed a sigh of relief before cautiously opening twitter again. He didn't dare glance at any direct messages or mentions, but the first few things on his timeline – mostly the other members of his dance group yelling at him to check their group chat in kakao – made him smile.

 

Locking the phone, he slid it into his suit pocket and looked at Donghae, squeezing his hand. “Thank you.”

 

Donghae smiled toothily at him. “I'm glad you like it.” He paused for a second. “I got one too,” he said in a whisper. “So we can video chat if we want.”

 

Hyukjae smiled and nodded. He guessed that Donghae was mentioning that they could video chat for their nightly calls – many of which turned very hot very quickly – for the next month when they wanted. Hyukjae suspected it was only the mutual masturbation on the calls that kept their lingering frustration banked just enough that they weren't trying to strip each other's clothes off as soon as they had seen each other.

 

They both looked up as the car slowed to a stop and Hyukjae felt his nerves flutter back up as he saw the traditional style building.

 

“Relax,” Donghae whispered. “My parents already like you for being able to put up with me.”

 

Hyukjae breathed out and nodded. Even though he could see the king and queen already dressed for the function and waiting under a covered pavilion, he was still nervous. Hyukjae slowly followed Donghae out of the car.

 

“Hi Mom and Dad,” Donghae chirped as he bounced out of the car.

 

“Well _someone_ is in a good mood,” Seungyeon remarked, the droll tone so in line with Donghae's joking tone that Hyukjae wasn't sure for a second who had spoken.

 

Donghae grabbed Hyukjae's hand. “Well, yeah. Mom got to be awesome earlier on TV, I can finally go out on a date with Hyukjae, and I'm about to be on vacation.”

 

“Just your mother, huh? I'll remember that.”

 

Donghae laughed and dragged Hyukjae to be beside him. “Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Hyukjae.”

 

Hyukjae quickly bowed, and he blushed as Donghae's mother cupped his cheeks. “Oh my you _are_ cute! Donghae's already gushed over you, but now I see why!”

 

“ _Mom_...” Donghae whined, blushing and trying to hide his face on Hyukjae's shoulder.

 

Hyukjae laughed, his cheeks pulling up, and he rubbed his hand soothingly against Donghae's side. “I'm glad that he felt I'm worth gushing over.”

 

Donghae peeked up at him, and he was caught up in Donghae's eyes for a long moment.

 

Seungyeon coughed. “Well before that continues any further, shall we get going?”

 

During their very brief meeting, the cars had been switched out, the official royal vehicles already waiting on them. With short bows, Donghae's parents slid into one, while Donghae dragged him towards the one where Youngwoon was waiting on them.

 

It was a quiet, short ride to the building, and Hyukjae enjoyed the time with Donghae pressed up against him and their hands lightly playing on their knees.

 

“Okay, after I indicate you can exit the car, we're going to be walking less than fifty meters and then around a corner where all of the reporters are for the red carpet event. We've told the reporters no interviews, so just do your nod and wave thing up into the building,” Youngwoon said as they pulled to a stop.

 

“Okay, got it,” Donghae said, unbuckling his belt as Youngwoon stepped out of the car. He looked at Hyukjae with a smile that made Hyukjae feel like he could do anything. “Ready?”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “Next to you, absolutely.” His stomach was busy doing flips, but he drew courage from Donghae's quiet assurance. He slid out of the car with Donghae as Youngwoon had tapped on the glass.

 

“Best thing for your first time facing the camera line is just to not pay attention to them. Just face forward and let Donghae handle the greetings,” Youngwoon said to him.

 

Hyukjae laughed a little and looked over. “That obvious?”

 

“A little yeah. You need some color back in your face so you don't make people think you're a ghost.”

 

Hyukjae grunted as Donghae slammed against him, their lips connecting and Donghae's tongue boldly swiping into Hyukjae's mouth. Just as Hyukjae had started to move his hands, Donghae pulled back. “There!” he chirped happily. “Let's go because if we stay here any longer I'm gonna be tempted to do _way_ more than just kiss you.”

 

Hyukjae's lip curled into a smirk. “We can't have that, now can we?”

 

“Not yet,” Donghae replied, his voice heavy with promises.

 

“Let's go before you two have more blood in your dicks than you do in your faces,” Youngwoon grumped. “You can make out later, preferably when I'm not around.”

 

Donghae snickered and tugged at Hyukjae's hand. Hyukjae matched his steps to Donghae's and forced himself to breathe in time with their pace. He could hear the sound of flashes going off and the reflected light flashed around the corner and licked his lips. He drew in a breath and released it, drawing on the confidence he _had_ to display when he was dancing so he wouldn't collapse into a heap of nerves. He deserved to be next to Donghae and holding Donghae's hand. They'd been matched, and that was the important bit. Not the opinions of people behind cameras and computer screens.

 

He alternated his view from Donghae to ahead of them, making sure that they were still on the path, and he couldn't help but smile back when Donghae turned to him with a brilliant smile.

 

“Keep moving,” Youngwoon muttered. They were finally past the wide banks of cameras and inside the building within a minute. “You will enter first, followed by their Majesties.”

 

“Got it,” Donghae replied. “Minimal input from me, right?”

 

“You got it. Shallow bow from you Hyukjae. Donghae you nod, wave, and then both of you off to the right of the door for your parents' arrival.”

 

Hyukjae was impressed and mildly shocked by the level of efficiency that was needed to have the royal family attend an event. He was even more impressed with how easily Donghae slid into his role, and Youngwoon's easy flips between all business and then mock grumbling to them. Running the instructions over in his head helped abate his nerves, and he was able to easily perform the needed formalities of a shallow bow in return to the bows of the people already gathered and then a deeper bow as Donghae's parents entered the room. Donghae stayed close to his side the entire time, a comforting, assuring presence that helped him navigate in and around conversations. He was also beginning to recognize Donghae's non verbal cues about others in the room which helped him adjust to speaking with high level politicians.

 

After nearly two hours, though, he was beginning to develop a headache from the overlapping smells in the room and the ventilation wasn't doing nearly enough to keep his head cleared out.

 

“Getting a headache?” Donghae asked.

 

“Yeah. I see what you mean about wanting to puke on some of the ministers, though. Only a few of them don't smell absolutely disgusting.”

 

“I think it's about time for us to leave anyway. We'll be excused because it's so close to Heat for us that we really won't be able to take it after too much longer,” Donghae said. They made their way through the crowd, both of them wincing at particularly strong scents, until they found Donghae's parents.

 

Seungyeon only had to look at their faces to know what they wanted. “Have to leave?” he asked quietly.

 

Donghae nodded. “If you don't mind? We're both getting headaches and nauseous.”

 

Seungyeon nodded his head. “Rest yourselves and have a pleasant match,” he said loud enough for his voice to carry, and they were granted shallow bows from Donghae's parents.

 

“We thank you for your good wishes,” Donghae formally replied, both of them bowing. They quickly left, so quickly that Youngwoon had to leave them with a couple of guards while he went to get the car in the shadows of the parking lot.

 

Donghae lounged invitingly against a car, the hint of a smirk on his lips and Hyukjae was powerless to resist. Stepping closer, he fit their lips together and another half step had Donghae pinned completely against the car. Donghae's body arched gracefully against his as their mouths opened. The heady scent of each other was only magnified with taste, their building need for each other making their hands dive under suit jackets and seek out the sensation of skin.

 

“Are you two done yet?” Youngwoon asked loudly.

 

Donghae whined, obviously not thrilled with the interruption. Hyukjae smiled at the curses that spilled out of Donghae's mouth and onto his shoulder where Donghae had rested his head.

 

Hyukjae dropped his head slightly to set his mouth against Donghae's ear. “Let's go. I want to get you off over these lovely new phones you got us.”

 

Donghae smiled. “Stay here for another minute and you could see it in person,” he whispered back.

 

Hyukjae smiled back and regretfully pulled back from pinning Donghae against the car. It was a short, silent ride back to the palace grounds, and Donghae pulled him in for a long kiss that had Hyukjae's blood igniting when they had pulled to a stop outside Hyukjae's temporary residence on the grounds. “I'll call you in about ten minutes,” Donghae whispered against his lips.

 

“Can't wait,” Hyukjae whispered back.

 

* * *

 

Donghae loved watching the media and social networks react to his and Hyukjae's now very public dating. He had laughed as the shadowed picture of them making out against a car had made it to the front page of every gossip site in the country – and he was thankful that it wasn't apparent who was pinning who against the car, since both he and Hyukjae were nearly the same height and were wearing much the same clothes. They had dates at restaurants and parks, mostly with Hyukjae's family in attendance, the passage of time before Heat seeming to drag on for both of them. Donghae could already start to feel the changes in himself, the precursors to the onset of Heat, and he knew that their outdoor picnic on a warm summer day would have to be their last public date. They were a week away from being summoned to the Center if one of them didn't start tipping over into Heat before then, and even with getting himself off twice almost every night, his body was starting to crave and need more.

 

Hyukjae sniffed at his neck, the heat of the day making Donghae feel as though he was on fire as well and he squirmed slightly in Hyukjae's arms.

 

“Donghae,” Hyukjae nearly whined, sniffing at a spot behind Donghae's ear and placing a wet kiss there that had Donghae shuddering. “I love how _incredible_ you smell, can't wait to get into your hot little body and make you scream...”

 

Donghae arched, sensation rocking through him when Hyukjae's thumbs brushed his nipples, a loud moan breaking from his throat.

 

Both of them suddenly jerked, conscious of their surroundings. “Shit,” Hyukjae mumbled, but tightened his arms around Donghae, and Donghae could have purred with how pampered he felt. “I feel like we're in Heat already.”

 

Donghae sighed. “I know.” There was really nothing he could say to reduce the strain or lessen the frustration. He threaded their fingers together and sighed deeply.

 

“You two aren't getting into any trouble are you?” Deokbom asked jokingly, sitting slightly away from them on the bench.

 

Hyukjae leaned his head against the back of Donghae's. “We're trying,” his voice laced with frustration.

 

Deokbom smiled comfortingly. “I know it's difficult. Just a few more days.”

 

“Yeah I can tell it's getting really close,” Donghae said. “After today, I don't think I'm going to be able to go out again. Everything is getting to be too much.”

 

Hyukjae squeezed him comfortingly and smiled. “Let's enjoy the rest of today then.”

 

Donghae smiled widely. “Okay.”

 

Enjoying their day was mostly a euphemism for lounging about in the sun for as long as they dared and then crowding under an umbrella to continue lounging around. As expected, their energy levels had dropped drastically in preparation for Heat while their appetites increased, but food was beginning to taste bland as they got closer to Heat. As their date was drawing to a close and the sun beginning to set below the treeline, Donghae found himself staring off at the trees, his brain wandering off for a few moments. When he gathered his mind back from where it had wandered, he blinked and smiled at Hyukjae, who was tapping away on his phone for a brief moment before smiling back up at him.

 

He blinked at his phone buzzing against his leg, but he waited until they were walking back to Hyukjae's residence before pulling out his phone and checking it, finding it was a new tweet from Hyukjae. Thumbing through to Twitter, he stopped when he saw the picture of himself staring off, his face backlit by the setting sun.

 

 _He shines brighter_.

 

His heart flipped in his chest, the simple words touching him. Hyukjae could be cheesy – beyond cheesy – but every time, Donghae was touched by the gesture. Hyukjae had stopped as well, spots of color on his cheeks.

 

Donghae wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time, but he settled for launching himself at Hyukjae and kissing him. “You're so cheesy,” he whispered against Hyukjae's lips. “I love it.”

 

Hyukjae kissed him softly in return, his scent changing slightly. There was comfort and security and warmth spreading around him, threading into the type smell and making Donghae's head swim. Hyukjae was smiling at him, softly stroking his face. “You smell like you're in love,” Hyukjae said.

 

Donghae smiled. “So do you.”

 

They slowly started walking back to Hyukjae's residence, Hyukjae's mother giving both of them a quick, motherly kiss on the forehead before she left and hopes for them to have a good Heat. Responding in kind, Donghae sighed and brushed a soft kiss over Hyukjae's lips.

 

“I'll see you soon,” Donghae promised. “I'll call you sooner, though.”

 

“Okay.” Hyukjae seemed to be reluctant to let him go, but they finally managed to pry their fingers off each other. “Hey Donghae,” he called just as Donghae had taken a few steps away from the door.

 

Hyukjae stepped to him and cupped his face. “I do love you,” he said quietly, for Donghae's ears only. “I want you to know that before we lose our brains for a week.”

 

Donghae smiled and pulled Hyukjae down for a brief kiss. “I love you too. I'll call you,” he promised, knowing that if he didn't leave immediately, he'd have to be physically pulled off Hyukjae.

 

* * *

 

When Hyukjae woke up five days later, his blood was already chugging heatedly through his body and he missed seeing Donghae like anything. Their video calls were nice and helped with the feeling of loneliness, but it wasn't like having Donghae right next to him. Stretching with a long moan, he felt absolutely lethargic but restless at the same time.

 

It was difficult dragging himself out of bed to answer the door when someone knocked, but once he'd finally gotten up and to the door, it swung open on its own. Youngwoon was standing on the other side of the door, and his face twisted up before releasing and he unabashedly waved the air in front of his face. “Oh yeah, you're smelling strong as hell too. If you're not hitting the beginning stages of Heat by the time you get there, you probably will as soon as Donghae gets in the room.”

 

“Donghae?” Hyukjae asked, his brain barely processing Youngwoon's words. “Are we in Heat yet?”

 

“You will be soon. Go ahead and pack your bag for the Center, we're going to take you there in an hour.”

 

“M'kay,” Hyukjae agreed. Making himself actually _pack_ instead of just flinging clothes into his suitcase was one of the harder things he'd remember doing in his life, but he was packed and ready to go well within an hour. He'd eaten a little, the food tasting bland and boring compared to Donghae's remembered taste. Once he was herded into a car with his bag, he buckled up and hoped Donghae remembered to do the same. It felt like a short drive to the Center, even though time felt like it was alternatively speeding up and slowing down on him, so he wasn't certain how long he was in the car. The Center felt like cool air hitting his hot brain and he was able to breathe for a moment, but his clothes were starting to itch, a sure sign he'd be in Heat soon. He was shown to the room he'd share with Donghae and he wasted no time in stripping his clothes and pulling on the plain silk robe that was provided for everyone.

 

His skin felt far better, the immediate itch pacified. He walked around the room, lighting the specialized candles the Center had, and he organized things to his liking. He pulled the covers down on the bed, withdrawing several bottles of lube and boxes of condoms from the cabinets that were well stocked with anything he and Donghae would like to use, and setting them near available surfaces.

 

The rounded two humped piece of furniture that was set on the floor looked sturdy enough to hold their weight, and now Donghae just needed to arrive in the room. Hyukjae thumbed the stereo system to life with the remote, and the music was quickly interrupted by a hum and the lights flickering. Hyukjae stood, readjusting the robe over his dick, which was already hard and aching, craving Donghae's body.

 

Donghae stumbled into the room alone, the door closing behind him. His bag was already dropped by the door and his hands fumbling with the clothes he'd most likely been forced into, trying to tear them off his body. Hyukjae loosened the belt of his robe, letting the silk pool at his feet as he waited for Donghae.

 

The naked hunger on Donghae's face made him feel wanted and desired, and he looked his fill as Donghae finally shed the last of his clothes.

 

“ _Hyukjae_ ,” Donghae moaned, his hands coming up to rub his nipples. “I _need_...”

 

“Yes,” he hissed. “Come here Donghae.”

 

Donghae walked closer to him, and as soon as Hyukjae caught Donghae's scent, he tipped over into Heat. Donghae was _his_ , _his_ mate was in Heat and he _needed_. They wound up flat on the bed, Donghae writhing on the bed, his legs spread invitingly. Grabbing the bottle of lube, Hyukjae soaked his fingers and slid one inside Donghae immediately.

 

Donghae arched up, crying out his need for more. Hyukjae pulled at the ring of muscle around his finger a little before sliding two inside. Two became three, and as soon as Hyukjae knew that Donghae was stretched wide enough, he rolled on a condom and poured more lube on the latex. Donghae was making sexy, pleading sounds, his body jerking almost in time with his breathing. Donghae's eyes rolled up as the head of Hyukjae's dick popped inside him, and as soon as Hyukjae slid fully into him, he shouted, coming between their bodies.

 

Hyukjae groaned, almost coming himself, and if Donghae hadn't slumped back down, he probably would have. Donghae's painful hiss as he leaned down made him switch methods and roll them over so that Donghae was resting on Hyukjae, his hips tilted enough to keep pressure off his dick. He trailed his fingers down Donghae's back as Donghae panted for a long few minutes, trying to get through the five minutes they would need to get hard again.

 

Just when Hyukjae thought he couldn't take it anymore, Donghae rose up and ground his hips down for a second before raising up and eagerly start fucking himself on Hyukjae's dick, expressing his desire loudly and without filters.

 

Hyukjae was blown away. Donghae was obviously loving bouncing on Hyukjae's dick, and as soon as he could, he started meeting each of Donghae's downward bounces with a hard thrust up of his hips. He was grunting and moaning loudly as Donghae eagerly fucked himself, and as Donghae came again with a shriek, Hyukjae couldn't hold himself back and he did a little shouting of his own as he came.

 

In the immediate aftermath of their orgasms, Hyukjae's head briefly cleared enough for him to slide out of Donghae and dispose of the condom, swiping his hands with a sanitary cleaning cloth and wiping up the come from both his and Donghae's stomachs. Donghae rolled over, grabbing one of the cloths for himself and cleaning his own hands. Hyukjae lowered himself down to the bed, Donghae's Heat scent reigniting the burning need in him.

 

Donghae sniffed at him, then licked at his skin. “Mmm, you smell so good and I need you _so bad_.”

 

Hyukjae returned the favor, sniffing at Donghae's skin and drawing in the incredible scent. “Then have me however you want me,” he replied, his head already swimming and his dick hard and aching again.

 

Donghae was rocking his hips against Hyukjae's, whines breaking from his throat. “I _need_ you in me so _badly_ ,” he said, nearly sobbing. “I can't stop wanting you in me...”

 

Hyukjae was quick in grabbing another condom, rolling it on, and covering it in more lube. Grabbing one of Donghae's legs and hooking it over his arm, he slid easily back inside Donghae, giving both of them what they craved.

 

“Yes, yes, yes _Hyukjae_ ,” Donghae moaned loudly, his hips already moving.

 

Hyukjae dropped his head from Donghae's neck and with a slight adjustment in position, he attached his mouth to one of Donghae's nipples and delivered a hard thrust that had Donghae screaming. Hyukjae could already feel the flutters around his dick and with another thrust, he felt Donghae come again, the strong contractions around his dick drawing another orgasm from him.

 

Donghae collapsed back down onto the bed, breathing hard, his body still twitching. “I want to fuck you so hard before tomorrow,” he mumbled. “But I can't stop _wanting_ you inside me...”

 

Hyukjae moaned, his body jerking at the thought of Donghae's dick buried deep within him. “I want that too,” he replied, disposing of the used condom and grabbing a new one that he knew he'd be needing soon. “I want you stretching me open and making me scream for you and then doing it again. Shove my head down into the bed and pull me how you want me.”

 

Donghae's legs were already invitingly parted and by the time they'd cleaned off Donghae's stomach, they were both already hard and aching again. “Hyukjae...” Donghae crooned, his Heat scent coming up to swamp Hyukjae and shutting down any other thought other than being inside Donghae.

 

Hyukjae grunted and drew in a deep breath of air, saturating himself with everything that was Donghae. Donghae was already flat on his back, his legs parted, but as he touched the soft skin of Donghae's inner thighs to spread those enticing legs even more, was struck by the thought of getting to taste that beautiful skin. He pulled the new condom on and soaked it in lube before yanking Donghae's legs up to rest on his shoulders as he pushed back inside Donghae.

 

Donghae's back arched sharply even as his arms reached up to pull Hyukjae down towards him, forcing his body to compact. Hyukjae twisted his head, his lips and teeth already at work on Donghae's luscious thighs while he thrust his hips hard, the incredible tightness from Donghae's body and Donghae's scent that was only magnified with the taste of skin making him cry out, his body needing the sweet release only Donghae could provide. Donghae arched sharply against him, his nails digging into Hyukjae's skin as he screamed, another orgasm trying to rip free. Hyukjae moaned and then shouted into the skin of Donghae's thigh as his own orgasm shot through him, the hard thrusts of his hips making Donghae come again as well.

 

They were both winded and their muscles starting to ache, but the intensity of the beginning of Heat kept them moving, their bodies never stopping the constant cycles of a short rest and quick rounds, neither one of them able to slow themselves down.

 

 

It was already dark outside, their room only being lit by the long life candles Hyukjae had ignited, when Donghae could finally work a large plug into Hyukjae, his hands shaking. Hyukjae was shivering, the heavy weight and the stretch of his body making him want and crave Donghae's heat around his dick again. Donghae welcomed him between his legs and inside his body easily, but rolled them over so he could fuck himself on Hyukjae again. Some part of Hyukjae's brain wondered if Donghae bouncing on a dick was his favorite form of exercise, an exercise program Hyukjae could readily approve of. Hyukjae found himself coming almost embarrassingly fast, the overwhelming sensations of the plug inside him and he inside Donghae shredding any sense of control. He reached up and roughly pinched Donghae's nipples, Donghae immediately coming from the sensation.

 

“Fucker,” Donghae mumbled fondly as they cleaned themselves up. “I think that's the first time I actually came from my nipples getting pinched.”

 

Hyukjae laughed a little. “I'll try it again later.” He shifted and moaned, the Heat sweeping back up as he felt his skin stretched and clenching on a cooler metal plug. “Donghae... Donghae I need you to fuck me. _Please_. Fuck me and then shove the plug back in me.”

 

Donghae easily rolled on top of him with a smirk. “Want me to fuck you bare since you're so eager to be filled up?”

 

Hyukjae groaned, his body itching with the aching need to have Donghae in him. “Yes,” he quietly answered.

 

Donghae's eyes were dark, his pupils blown so wide with desire, but Hyukjae caught that particular scent that steadied and assured drifting to him along with the Heat scent. Without words, he knew he was loved. “Okay,” Donghae agreed. “Before we're done with this, I want you in me bare, too.” Donghae grunted against his skin as he dropped his head down to mouth at Hyukjae's collarbone. “I want you to claim me in the most primal way possible... just like I'm going to do to you,” he growled.

 

Hyukjae found it easy to give into Donghae's hands and desire, letting Donghae flip him over on the bed, drawing his hips back up to pull the plug out. Hyukjae shuddered, feeling open and empty, and he rocked his hips in the air, hoping to tempt Donghae to hurry and fill him up as he desired. He gasped and gripped at the bed when he felt Donghae slide wetly into him, understanding Donghae's incessant desire so much at the moment. The plug was somewhat large, but nothing compared to Donghae and he had to pant, his body adjusting to the wider stretch. Hyukjae whined and rolled his hips back, needing the wet glide of Donghae deep inside him, his body still trying to adjust to Donghae's girth.

 

Donghae wasn't gentle, nor did Hyukjae want him to be, as he craved Donghae slamming roughly into him, and he screamed loudly as Donghae yanked him up, the first hard thrust hitting his prostate and making his limbs twitch. Donghae didn't even need to touch him for Hyukjae to come with another well aimed thrust, Donghae's scent growing stronger with imminent orgasm, and Hyukjae jerked and moaned as Donghae came hard inside him, biting the skin of his shoulder. Donghae roughly shoved his upper body back down onto the bed and Hyukjae moaned approvingly. He bit his lip against a whine when Donghae pulled out, knowing that it would only be a few seconds before the plug was back. His dick was sore from the constant sex, but he rutted back against the plug as Donghae began sliding it in, needing and craving the sexual stimulation. He couldn't stop himself from rocking his hips, whining as the plug only brushed at his prostate instead of pushing against it.

 

Donghae moaned, and Hyukjae looked back behind him. Donghae was cleaning himself with one of the wipes, wincing at the brush of fabric against a sensitive dick, but once he was done, he got Hyukjae flat on his back and pressed a wipe into Hyukjae's hand.

 

Hyukjae kept grunting and grinding his hips down into the bed as he cleaned the come off his body, needing the time to pass quickly.

 

Donghae straddled his thighs and smiled down at him. “You're just as much of a cockwhore as what I am,” he announced proudly.

 

Hyukjae huffed a laugh. “Probably, was just never given much of a chance to express it. But _damn_ this plug feels amazing in me. Not as good has having your dick in me, but amazing.” Hyukjae grunted. “Okay come here I want to kiss you until we're hard again.”

 

Donghae giggled and dropped off to Hyukjae's side, Hyukjae rolling to follow him. Donghae looped one strong leg over Hyukjae's hips and Hyukjae grunted at the strong smell. “I love it when you grunt at me like a caveman,” Donghae said.

 

“Caveman, huh? I'll show you fucking caveman with you tempting me with your Heat smell.” They were hard again within two minutes of kissing, and within three, Hyukjae was already roughly fucking Donghae, Donghae's shouts and cries for _more_ and _harder_ encouraging Hyukjae to revert back to their biological ancestors, giving in desperately to their Heat, marking Donghae with his teeth and fingers and with his scent as pheromones poured off his skin in anticipation of his orgasm. Donghae was incoherent as he came, his skin glittering with sweat and come, and Hyukjae swore he roared with his orgasmic scream.

 

“Oh God I'll call you a caveman every day if it gets me _that_ reaction,” Donghae moaned.

 

Hyukjae panted and grinned, feeling his arms shake a little. “You say that like you aren't just as much of a caveman.”

 

Donghae's lips curled upwards. “Oh? Needing me to fuck you again so soon?” he teased.

 

Hyukjae straddled Donghae's chest, the strong gathering of pheromones at his groin drifting to Donghae's nose. “What do you think?”

 

Donghae moaned, his hands rubbing up Hyukjae's thighs and keeping him in place. “I'm thinking you need to be marked even more by me. You're _mine_ and you're going to fucking _smell like it_ ,” Donghae growled, baring his teeth in an ancient display of dominance.

 

Hyukjae bared his teeth back grabbing Donghae's hair roughly. “You will _never_ be able to get my scent off you Donghae. You are _my_ power bottom royal cockwhore.”

 

Both of them were breathing fast, their displays of possession and claiming only serving to fuel their Heat instead of abating it. The fight built up, both of them growling and snarling at each other as they fought for dominance over the already half empty bottle of lube, and Hyukjae felt the fight drop back into Heat as Donghae roughly spread his legs open. Allowing Donghae that victory, he moaned encouragingly, his body going passive and pliant in the face of Donghae's assuring dominance over him. He wanted this, wanted to be claimed and marked and utterly _possessed_ by his mate again and again just as he would also do to Donghae. He whined as Donghae pulled the plug out, but it moved to a gasp as Donghae reassuringly filled him up again.

 

Donghae fulfilled every need Hyukjae wasn't even aware he had, fucking him just as roughly as Hyukjae had to Donghae not more than ten minutes before, and need screamed through him for more. He reached up, rubbing, then roughly pinching Donghae's nipples, wanting Donghae to come and soak Hyukjae in his scent.

 

Donghae's shout of his name was assuring in a way, their possession proving to be shared. Donghae was his, he was Donghae's, and this orgasm was one of the most intense that he'd had so far. The last hard thrust of Donghae's orgasm set off his own and he called Donghae's name, reassuring both of them of Donghae's claim on him.

 

“Mmm, you're really starting to smell like you belong to me,” Donghae muttered while nudging at Hyukjae's ear with his nose.

 

Hyukjae laughed and lightly kissed Donghae. “Did you fuck me bare again?”

 

“Yeah, so far gone into caveman mode I forgot to grab a condom. Not going to do that again until we can shower, I prefer not getting a urinary tract infection. Want me to plug you up again?”

 

“Hell yes,” Hyukjae replied, eager. As Donghae withdrew, Hyukjae clenched while biting his lip, only releasing it when Donghae seated the plug back inside him. They cleaned up as much as they could for the moment, their bodies tired from their constant activity, but the Heat keeping them awake. He gathered Donghae in his arms, knowing it wouldn't be long before they would be fucking again. “Want to bounce on my dick again next round?” he asked, his fingers stroking and softly rubbing Donghae's nipples. He felt kind of bad that he'd been so rough on them earlier, so he was trying to be softer, and he really like how Donghae shuddered against him.

 

“You ask that like my answer is ever going to be anything other than a resounding yes,” Donghae teased. “I can't wait until we're done with the primal caveman fucking so I can finally suck you off.”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “It never hurts to make sure.” It was only another minute before Donghae's hips shifted. Looking down he saw their dicks starting to harden once more. Rolling onto his back, he grabbed the lube, fighting like hell to ignore Donghae's disappointed whine. Pouring a decent amount of lube onto his bare dick, he poked Donghae. “Climb on my royal cockwhore. Let's get you a good ride.”

 

Donghae eagerly scrambled up, only pausing to glance down and then up curiously. “Bare?”

 

“Yep. I want my scent coming out of you almost as strongly as what I'm smelling like you. Hop on.”

 

Donghae rolled down onto his dick with one smooth movement and didn't even pause to adjust. Donghae easily fucked himself on Hyukjae, drawing yet another orgasm from both of them. But differently from Hyukjae, Donghae seemed to delight in the sensation of come sliding out of his ass and down his thighs.

 

“Not a word, Hyukjae, we both need a shower,” Donghae said, rocking his hips from side to side.

 

Hyukjae snorted. “I wasn't going to say anything. You look like you're enjoying yourself.”

 

“Mmm, yeah. Don't forget to clean yourself up, though. We've got two weeks to fuck each other into oblivion at any time and I don't want it screwed up by either of us getting a tract infection.”

 

“Yes dear,” he teased, earning a light slap on the shoulder from Donghae. He wiped his dick, only wincing a little as the nerves were still registering soreness instead of pleasure. “Oh hey, are you minding me calling you my royal cockwhore?”

 

Donghae grinned. “This is going to sound so bad, but I am _loving_ it when you call me that. Makes me feel like some well kept, very treasured pet that just pleased you by spreading my legs. Besides, it's pretty accurate. I'm yours, I'm royal, and I am most definitely a cockwhore,” he joked.

 

Hyukjae grinned back. “I'll keep doing it then. I wonder if I can get you trained enough to have a Pavolvian reaction if I call you that.”

 

Donghae snorted and yanked Hyukjae on top of him. “Only if I can train you do do the same if I call you a caveman. Speaking of which, grab a condom and get back to being a caveman, will you? I'll fuck you in a little while.”

 

“Whatever you say my royal cockwhore.”

 

* * *

 

Donghae tipped his head back and let the water soak his hair and his body. It was around midnight, and the pressure of his bladder had become all too uncomfortable (though it gave him a couple of really intense orgasms since it was pressing against his prostate) and he absolutely needed to relieve himself. The water cleared his head slightly, and he walked out of the shower to the toilet, sighing in relief when his bladder was empty. He walked back into the shower and quickly washed his dick and his hands, then shut off the water.

 

He grabbed a towel and halfheartedly dried himself as he walked back into their room, his dick immediately hardening at the strong smell of their Heat.

 

Hyukjae looked over at him. “That was quick.”

 

“Yeah, hop in the shower really fast to get some water on you, it clears your head enough to be able to pee.”

 

“I was talking more about your dick coming up to say hi, but I'll give your advice a go before I fuck you silly,” Hyukjae joked, levering himself up from the bed, and then moaning deeply. “Fuck I gotta take the plug out.”

 

Donghae snorted and skirted around the room, leaving Hyukjae a clear path. "Pull it out when you're in the shower then. You should be able to wash it and your dick pretty fast. I'll grab another one for you.”

 

Hyukjae wandered to the bathroom and Donghae went to the cabinets. They needed more lube and condoms, so Donghae grabbed those items and tossed them on the bed, but grabbed another plug for Hyukjae. His dick was already rising, precome leaking in just the short time it took to do that small task. Flinging himself back down, his face buried itself into the sheets, the pheromones soaking back into his brain and his skin. Spreading his legs with a moan, he got his knees under him to raise his ass up in the air.

 

“Well this is an attractive picture to come back to,” Hyukjae growled, his firm hands already gripping Donghae's skin, kneading the skin of his ass roughly.

 

“Hyukjae _please_ ,” he whined, needing to be filled up and fucked hard until he was coming again and again.

 

His body quivered as he heard the rip of the condom foil and the squelch of the lube, knowing what was coming – aside from him – and absolutely _craving_ something only Hyukjae had ever been able to provide. His back arched and a loud cry left his throat as Hyukjae filled him with one thrust. He drew in the scent of their Heat that was soaked into the bed, his body jerking in time to each of Hyukjae's thrusts until the Heat swept him away again, making him claw at the bed as he came his brains out once more.

 

He lost track of time between him fucking Hyukjae and Hyukjae fucking him, but when he found himself blearily blinking at the tinted window and the bright light streaming in, his body aching pleasurably, but feeling like he couldn't get hard for anything for the next hour, he finally sighed.

 

Hyukjae made an inquisitive grunt and snuggled up behind him. “What's up?”

 

“Not us, thankfully. Fuck I had no clue our Heat would be that intense.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled. “You say that like we're done or something.”

 

Donghae snorted. “Instead of us having to fuck every five minutes, we'll be fucking every thirty minutes to an hour and we might actually be able to eat something and sleep.”

 

Hyukjae hummed, pressing a kiss to Donghae's shoulder following up with a soft, sucking bite to his neck and quick hands rubbed at his nipples. “Sure about that?”

 

Donghae wasn't ever one to say no to such an offer, and sure enough his dick rose easily to the occasion. “Yeah whatever caveman,” he mumbled, raising his leg over Hyukjae's legs and pushing his ass back, feeling the remembered bursts of pleasure rocking through his body.

 

He moaned happily as Hyukjae filled him up yet again, gentle fingers against his nipples, and long, sure thrusts that had him crying out. Hyukjae nipped at his skin, coloring it and holding him in place, unable to move from the pleasure. Hyukjae kissed his ear, then nipped at it. “Why don't you go ahead and come my royal cockwhore?”

 

Donghae arched, his dick jerking as come shot out onto the bed, and a piercing scream coming from his throat. He heard Hyukjae grunt in his ear (he never thought _that_ would be a turn on but it was) and come within him, grinding his hips against Donghae's ass. Donghae moaned happily as he felt Hyukjae withdraw and the distinct sensation of come sliding out of him and across his skin.

 

Hyukjae chuckled. “Never seen anyone so happy to have come running down their ass.”

 

Donghae smiled and shrugged. “Makes me feel sexy.” Heaving a sigh, he rolled over, looping his leg over Hyukjae, unashamedly sniffing at him.

 

“And you call me a caveman,” Hyukjae mumbled, grabbing a wipe and quickly cleaning them before dragging Donghae closer, cradling Donghae's head in his palm. “Go ahead and sniff at me you ape.”

 

Donghae playfully grunted at him, but drew in deep breaths. Surprisingly, for the first time in almost thirty-six hours, he slept, surrounded by Hyukjae's – his _mate_ 's – Heat scent.

 

He didn't sleep long, just enough to refresh his mind, but he didn't even need to guess what had woken him, not when his body was already aching and his dick throbbing from the strong Heat smell. “Hyukjae,” he moaned, his eyes fluttering open.

 

Hyukjae smiled sleepily at him. “Hi.”

 

He stretched, shamelessly teasing Hyukjae by keeping his legs wrapped around one of Hyukjae's legs. “Did you sleep any?”

 

Hyukjae kissed him, pressing him down into the mattress, but then pulled back a little to just rest their lips against each other's. “Yeah, but I got woken up by your delicious Heat smell. You must have been having a hell of a dream.”

 

Donghae grinned and wrapped his legs around Hyukjae's waist, impatiently waiting to be filled up again. “Who needs a dream when you have reality?”

 

Hyukjae nipped at his shoulder again, reaching for a condom.

 

Groaning at the delay, he grabbed the lube, soaked a couple of fingers and shoved them into himself. Hissing slightly at the burn, he easily stretched his sphincter enough to accommodate Hyukjae without injury. “Use a little extra lube,” he ordered as he pulled his fingers out. “I didn't stretch myself much.”

 

Hyukjae poured a generous amount of lube on the condom, then pressed inside. Donghae whined, feeling his body stretch, but Hyukjae was sliding in and out of him wetly, and he needed more of everything to make him come and come and come.

 

“ _Donghae_ ,” Hyukjae groaned, speeding his thrusts and giving both of them what they needed.

 

Donghae let his legs be spread widely and he came quickly, clenching rhythmically around Hyukjae to make him come as well. Both of them shouted as Hyukjae came, Donghae from the utter surprise of having his prostate directly hit several times, and Hyukjae calling Donghae's name. Hyukjae collapsed down onto him, and Donghae held him in place, feeling his body thrumming.

 

“Fuck, did we just get here or something?” Hyukjae mumbled.

 

Donghae smiled. “Guess I'm just too sexy for you to resist.”

 

Hyukjae shrugged and tilted his head in agreement. “True enough. Guess the same could be said about me since you're constantly getting hard around me.”

 

Donghae smiled wider and lightly shoved at Hyukjae's shoulder. “Yeah, you're pretty hot for a caveman. Now come here and cuddle with me until you can fuck me again.”

 

Hyukjae's lips tilted up. “As my royal cockwhore commands.”

 

Donghae preened at the nickname and pulled Hyukjae closer.

 

 

They spent the entire week of their Heat naked and usually covered in come and lube, their showers usually amplifying their Heat smell to the point where they rinsed off and fell into bed soaking wet, and they kind of gave up on trying to do more than wash their dicks by the third time. Though one of their failed showers did allow Donghae the leeway of getting on his knees for Hyukjae, making him come within a minute, and he had laughed at Hyukjae muttering that he was now going to have thousands of fantasies about Donghae and his mouth.

 

As their Heat started to abate, they began sleeping for longer stretches and eating more regularly and their heightened sense of smell began to diminish to a more normal level for a human. While Donghae would miss the way he could just smell Hyukjae's desire and love for him, he was glad that they were done with Heat for the next four years, as he was fairly certain he and Hyukjae probably would have killed each other with sex if it occurred more frequently.

 

Hyukjae had demanded that they change the sheets and pillows the first day after their Heat, and Donghae couldn't have agreed faster. Their sweat, pheromones, various bodily fluids, and lube, while incredible smelling during Heat, began turning a little sour now that they were done. They took a shower together, their bodies still tired and aching and spent the entire first day napping and eating, the physical closeness connecting them further on an emotional level.

 

Donghae felt a little more normal by the third day of their week-long vacation after Heat, pinning Hyukjae onto the bed with his body and placing hard, sucking kisses along his collarbone. “Hi, wanna fuck?” he grinned as he pulled up.

 

Hyukjae laughed. “Your method of seduction is very persuasive.”

 

“Yeah yeah lose the clothes, caveman. I want a good cuddle after you fuck me silly.”

 

“Such a demanding royal cockwhore,” Hyukjae mock complained as he sat up, a wide smile on his face as he stripped the t-shirt and boxers. “You trying to get some exercise in by bouncing on my dick?”

 

“Like you're complaining. You want nipple duty or stretching me out?” Donghae asked, holding the bottle of lube and a condom.

 

Hyukjae grinned and grabbed the bottle of lube, but also dropped his head. “Both is an acceptable option,” he said before sucking hard on one of Donghae's nipples and sliding a surprising finger inside him.

 

Donghae moaned, his eyes closing and body relaxing into Hyukjae's hands and mouth. Hyukjae was quick but gentle in stretching him out, and it wasn't long before he was back to quickly moving his body on Hyukjae's dick, the pleasure arching his back and drawing a long moan out of him as Hyukjae stroked his dick until he was sobbing out Hyukjae's name. Hyukjae drove steady, sure thrusts into his body as he came, and they collapsed back down onto the bed. They separated only long enough to dispose of the condom and wipe the come off Hyukjae's stomach before coming back together in the middle of the bed.

 

“Damn the sex is really good with you,” Donghae said, threading their fingers together as he rested half on top of Hyukjae.

 

“Takes two to make sex good,” Hyukjae mumbled back, wrapping an arm around Donghae to hold him in place. “Mmm, I love you Donghae.”

 

Donghae grinned, contentment spreading through him and he pressed a kiss to Hyukjae's cheek. “I love you too Hyukjae.”

 

“I'm glad we established that before Heat week.”

 

He giggled. “Yeah me too. But I don't mind hearing it as often as you want to say it.”

 

Hyukjae's eyes cracked open. “Then you better be prepared to hear it a lot.”

 

Donghae yawned. “You'll probably get tired of hearing me say it back.”

 

“Never.”

 

“Just like I'm never going to get tired of hearing you say it.”

 

Hyukjae pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Going to take a nap?”

 

“Probably. You're comfortable,” Donghae said, closing his eyes again.

 

* * *

  

“Holy shit you're both walking,” was the first thing they heard as they exited the Center's doors to see Youngwoon leaning against the car.

 

Hyukjae grinned. “Amazingly enough, and despite our best attempts otherwise.”

 

Youngwoon rolled his eyes upward. “Great, now you have him doing it too,” he complained to Donghae, who only smirked. “You've got the rest of the calendar week and the weekend to get back into the swing of things,” he said as he opened the car door for them.

 

Donghae pushed up his glasses after he'd buckled up, and Hyukjae strapped himself in as well. “So what's happened since we've been out of the loop?”

 

“Depends how long ago your brain turned off,” Youngwoon answered as they pulled away.

 

“Let's start from about a month ago.”

 

Youngwoon started naming off various events until Donghae finally said that he didn't remember it, which wound up being almost a week and a half before they went into the Center.

 

“About two weeks ago, some of those hardline conservatives got a petition together about you to present to your father.”

 

Donghae snorted. “Well their sense of timing stinks. We were already in the Center, and I'm still not romantically inclined towards women.”

 

“Yeah that's kind of what your mother told them and tore up the petition.”

 

Donghae laughed. “That sounds exactly like something Mom would do.”

 

“Well, she then marched herself right down to the National Assembly, dragging your father along with her, which made our lives a really stressful nightmare for like three hours, and gathered up enough support for your match with a really impassioned on the spot speech for the National Assembly to vote today on the possibility of recognizing every match combination that the Center makes as a valid marriage for people of all orientations to follow societal custom.”

 

Hyukjae stared at Youngwoon with an open mouth. “You're kidding.”

 

Youngwoon shook his head. “Nope.”

 

Donghae let out an irritated breath and shook his head. “There's no way it's going to pass. The conservatives have held the Assembly for years. I'm probably going to have to find some obscure legal loophole to marry Hyukjae. Besides, not everyone marries their match.”

 

Hyukjae felt the warmth spread in his chest and across his face. “Wonderful proposal, dear, I'm swooning with the romance,” he joked.

 

Donghae glanced at him and smiled. “Oh just you wait, I'll give you a _real_ proposal later,” his tone rife with what kind of proposal he actually wanted.

 

“Back to business,” Youngwoon griped. “They'll be done voting by the time we get back to the palace. That's been the most major news since you went in. Hyukjae, we got all of your stuff moved over to Donghae's suite, and I picked up Choco earlier from your cousin.”

 

Hyukjae grinned. “You're almost more fond of my dog than I am.”

 

Youngwoon smiled into the rearview mirror. “She's cute.”

 

They pulled into the palace grounds, and immediately pulled up to the palace itself. Donghae's parents were waiting for them as soon as they walked in and Hyukjae was swept up into hugs and welcomes that made him smile and feel more at ease. Donghae slid next to Hyukjae, wrapping an arm around Hyukjae's waist. “So Youngwoon told us something about you marching down to the National Assembly and dragging Dad with you?” he teased his mother.

 

She coughed and averted her eyes, attempting to look innocent. “I might have been a _little_ angry at some nameless individuals that can't simply accept that you were matched,” she finally said.

 

Donghae looked at his father. “Was it almost World War Three?”

 

“Pretty close to it,” his father agreed. “They should be done voting by now, I don't know what's taking so long.”

 

“Your Majesties!” a youthful young woman called, rushing into the room surprisingly fast in a pencil skirt and heels that made Hyukjae's ankles hurt looking at them, her brown hair falling in soft curls around her face and her lips painted red. She bowed lowly and rose up only when Seungyeon acknowledged her.

 

“Donghae, Hyukjae, this is Kim Hyuna, she just joined the political staff while you were in the Center,” Seungyeon introduced.

 

Both he and Donghae bowed to her.

 

“I hope that your Highness's matching was pleasant and successful,” she said.

 

Hyukjae smiled as Donghae grabbed his hand. “Yes it was, we thank you for your good wishes.”

 

“What news do you have?”

 

Hyuna smiled. “It passed. _Barely_ and with one minor change, but it _passed_.”

 

“What _minor change_?” Donghae's mother asked darkly, her mouth set into an uncompromising line.

 

Hyuna blew her cheeks out for a second, making her look much younger. “The National Assembly has passed Her Majesty's bill with the stipulation that the Crown Prince Donghae and his match Lee Hyukjae will be the first to participate under this new law, as it is Her Majesty's love for her child that precipitated its implementation.”

 

“But it covers everyone living?”

 

“Yes, your Majesty. They just want the most well known case for this law to be the first to benefit from it.” She bit her lip for a moment and stepped closer, her voice dropping slightly. “Your Majesties, we've been discussing this within the office, and we looked over the language of the law. As the law reads right now, if the Crown Prince and Lee Hyukjae ssi are to wed before any language is changed, he will gain rank equal to the Crown Prince, and will be regarded with a rank equal to yours when the Crown Prince ascends to the throne. We suspect the conservatives will attempt to pass amendments to it, limiting the power or reducing the language to the point where any non-heterosexual match would legally be regarded as... um...” Hyuna's cheeks colored and she cough delicately, glancing away.

 

“As...?” Donghae asked.

 

She sighed. “Someone described it as 'being a glorified legal concubine.'”

 

Hyukjae felt his stomach sink a little. Some progress had been made, but it would probably be mostly eroded within a week. “One step forward and two steps back,” he muttered.

 

“Do they know that we're already out?” Donghae asked.

 

“I doubt it, Highness. You're not scheduled to appear in public until next week on Monday,” Youngwoon answered. “They don't know when exactly you went into the Center.”

 

“And what's the soonest the Assembly could potentially pass any laws?”

 

Hyuna shrugged. “Probably in a couple of hours, they're breaking for lunch now.” Her lips quirked. “We could make a couple of calls and have things stalled for maybe an hour or so to get a marriage legally registered.”

 

Donghae looked at Hyukjae and smiled. “Well, I guess we're getting married.”

 

Hyukjae held up a finger. “I'm not getting killed by my parents. I don't want to be a glorified legal concubine, but I fear my mother's wrath _far_ more.”

 

Donghae looked at Youngwoon. “Youngwoon?”

 

“On it. I'll be back in forty-five minutes, tops. Just your parents and sister and her match, right?”

 

Hyukjae nodded, feeling his head swim.

 

“Hey,” Donghae quietly said, wrapping his arms comfortingly around Hyukjae's waist. “Do you want this?”

 

Hyukjae took a deep breath and looked at Donghae, smiling. “Yeah. Yeah, I want this. I want whatever it is that lets us be together.” He looped his arms back around Donghae. “And I will fight anyone who tries to say that we can't.”

 

Donghae made a happy noise and nearly tackled him to the floor with his exuberant hug, making Hyukjae laugh. “Let's start some shit together,” Donghae offered with a wide smile.

 

“Right beside you,” Hyukjae agreed.

 

“I'll go ahead and make some calls and get all of the legal documents drawn up,” Hyuna said, spinning on her heels after a low bow.

 

 

It had been a very busy day, one that Hyukjae hadn't expected. The new ring on his finger was an unfamiliar weight, but one he would gladly get used to, and he would wear it proudly, smugly. He wouldn't forget the looks on some of the politicians' faces as his legal wedding to Donghae was announced to the Assembly along with his newly conferred titles, and it was obvious no one had expected them to be out of the Center already.

 

He eagerly kissed Donghae back as his match and new husband – the first title carrying far more weight in society than the second – tackled him down to the bed, his hands tugging at their clothes. He pulled back with a small laugh. “And you call _me_ the caveman,” he teased, getting Donghae's shirt off.

 

Donghae rolled his eyes, but kissed him again. “You're my caveman,” he said against Hyukjae's lips, rolling his hips back as Hyukjae squeezed the generous cheeks of his ass. “And don't you forget it.”

 

“As my royal cockwhore commands.”

 

Donghae giggled. “I love you Hyukjae.”

 

Hyukjae smiled and threaded their fingers together. “I love you too Donghae.”

 

“Now lose the clothes, you're hotter without them.”

 

“I could say the same about you.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> this got a little political and plotty at the end, something that I didn't really intend, but that's how writing goes sometimes. And to make sure there's no misunderstandings about some things:
> 
> matches can be in any possible combination and can be poly
> 
> aro and ace people do get matched, but there's usually accommodations.
> 
> sex-repulsed asexuals can request to not be matched, or to only be matched to another sex-repulsed asexual and they don't get into the same room until after heat week. Demis are still kind of screwed with matching. Getting better, but some aspects still suck.
> 
> "matches" have more societal weight than marriage, matches are genetics, marriage is for legalities (and tax breaks).
> 
> matches are based upon genetic type, and EunHae's type is very rare - maybe 5000 people across all ages out of 75 million people. Heat cycles are 4 years, so if someone of the same age is not compatible, you can only go 4/8/12 years up or down, and people don't usually know their type until after their third Heat (around 21/22 years old) so teens and young adults are not worrying about trying to find mates. Matches are only made on the fourth Heat (25/26 years old). I kept the genetics purposefully vague so my bio friends (ahem Kara) can headcanon whatever genetics give them the least amount of headaches.
> 
> I was only telling this story from EunHae's POV which is why you didn't see any of the above, but yes I did think about it. The genetics too.
> 
> the reason HaeMum kinda blew her top is because she's the more political savvy of the two and she knew that without legal protection of marriage, Donghae's status as Crown Prince was threatened.
> 
> yeah Hyuna's here and is sexy, get over it
> 
> if you wanna feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for Youngwoon - he's the one that has to listen to Donghae talk about his sex life and has walked in at very inopportune moments through the years.
> 
> Now that you're done with that mess, if you liked, review, kudos, do the good things in life ♥


End file.
